FMCSA adds ethanol to nationwide fuel-haul hours waiver as US ethanol output hits five-week high
The FMCSA added ethanol and heating oil to its nationwide fuel-haul hours-of-service waiver, Commercial Carrier Journal reported. That means drivers moving those loads can run outside the normal HOS limits for the duration of the waiver. For haulers staring down winter heating demand and tight driver counts, it is real relief.
Read it next to the production number. Ethanol output hit a five-week high, per News Dakota. More gallons coming off the plants, and now more hours to move them. The timing lines up for jobbers who blend and deliver.
The 45Z credit
A Minnesota ethanol plant is walking its farmer-suppliers through the 45Z tax credit changes, Brownfield Ag News reported. 45Z is the clean fuel production credit, and it rewards lower carbon intensity at the plant gate, which pushes the math back onto how the corn gets grown. Farmers who tighten their practices can move the credit value their buyer captures.
Most growers have not priced this into contracts yet. The plants that explain it early lock in supply and goodwill. Watch whether other producers copy the outreach.
Suape imports
Brazil could resume importing US ethanol through the port of Suape in January 2027, StoneX said in a report carried by Reuters. The call rests on seasonal math: first-quarter conditions in 2027 may echo early 2026, when US anhydrous ethanol flowed into Brazil's Northeast and pushed the country's ethanol trade balance.
US imports into Brazil rose sharply over the first three months of 2026. That is a 2027 story and a long way off, but it marks an export outlet that could firm up domestic prices when Gulf product has somewhere to go. For now it is a forecast from one brokerage, nothing booked.
SIUE expansion
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is putting $17 million into expanding its ethanol research center, STLtoday.com reported. Research money does not move a rack price this quarter. It does signal that the corn-belt institutions still see a long runway for the fuel, which matters to anyone weighing blend infrastructure.
What to watch
The waiver's end date and scope are the near-term question for haulers, so check the FMCSA order before you dispatch against it. On supply, whether the five-week production high holds or was a one-week blip will tell you more than the headline does. And keep an eye on how many ethanol plants follow Minnesota's lead on 45Z, because the ones that coach their growers early could lock up the lowest-CI gallons. The Suape resumption stays a watch item, not a trade, until StoneX's seasonal read shows up in actual bookings.