US ethanol sector faces grim prospects-USDA

Reuters
Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:56pm GMT
By K.T. Arasu

WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Hard times have hit the once-robust U.S. ethanol sector amid the economic recession, with as much as 15 percent of production capacity likely standing idle, USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber said on Thursday.

It was a sobering assessment of the fledging industry that was once bursting with optimism and financial gains as the country issued mandates on using the renewable fuel to reduce dependence on crude oil.

Read the full story