Bioenergy: ARGUS Chicago bleached fancy tallow

The ARGUS Chicago bleached fancy tallow price assessment

The Argus Chicago bleached fancy tallow price assessment is a key reference benchmark for fat extracted from animal tissue in the rendering process that is delivered by rail through Chicago as a Rule 11 arrangement. A Rule 11 arrangement is one between a major Class 1 railroad and a short line railroad where freight is pre-paid to an intermediate point in Chicago. The assessment is priced on an outright basis and reflects a maximum free fatty acid (FFA) content of 4% and a maximum moisture, impurities and unsaponifiable (MIU) content of 1%.

Advantages of the ARGUS Chicago bleached fancy tallow price assessment

Several renderers ship tallow into Chicago, where it is traded and bought for use in industries like biofuel production. The price assessment applies to bleached fancy tallow traded on a delivered Chicago Rule 11 basis, 1-30 days forward. It is published daily in the Americas Biofuels report. Price transparency and superior market coverage on feedstock fundamentals allows market participants to respond more efficiently to changing market conditions and help evaluate margins for procuring supply.

Users of the ARGUS Chicago bleached fancy tallow price assessment

The Argus bleached fancy tallow price assessment can be used to price physical deals. Users include refiners and co-processors, suppliers, and biodiesel/renewable diesel plants. Additionally, prices can be used in operational and inventory planning. The Argus approach is to focus on the feedstock fundamentals which provides a detailed understanding of how prices can change supply dynamics in the marketplace and provide key input into planning decisions.