U.S. soybean processors eased off October’s record-setting pace in November, but crushing activity remained historically strong, while soybean oil inventories climbed to their highest level in roughly a year and a half, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
National soybean crush volumes totaled more than 6.615 million metric tons in November, equivalent to approximately 220.48 million bushels. That figure represented a 6.7% decline from October’s unusually long processing month, a reduction of 475,206 tons, as detailed in USDA’s monthly Fats and Oils: Oilseed Crushings, Production, Consumption and Stocks report. Despite the month-to-month pullback, October still stands as the highest soybean crush on record, and November’s total exceeded processing levels from the same period in 2024.
Lower crush rates also translated into reduced crude soybean oil production compared to October. November output exceeded 2.532 billion pounds, down 7.6%, or nearly 209 million pounds, from the previous month’s historic high. Even with that decline, crude oil production remained 1.7% higher than November output one year earlier.
USDA data showed more than 1.779 billion pounds of once-refined soybean oil were removed from inventories for processing use during November. That represented a 14.1% decline from October and was 1.6% below the volume removed during the same month last year. Of that total, more than 574.8 million pounds went toward inedible processing applications, a segment that fell 16.2% month to month and 8.6% compared with November 2024.
The agency again did not release a monthly estimate for crude soybean oil consumption used in inedible processing, citing confidentiality concerns “to avoid disclosing data for individual operations.”
Soybean oil inventories increased sharply during the month, reaching their highest level in 18 months. Total stocks at the end of November stood at nearly 2.164 billion pounds, up about 21.1% from the roughly 1.787 billion pounds reported at the close of October. The sizable month-to-month build also left overall soybean oil supplies 33.7% higher than at the end of November 2024.
Within that total, crude soybean oil stocks accounted for nearly 1.697 billion pounds, marking a 25% increase from October levels and a surge of more than 49.1% compared to year-ago inventories.
Once-refined soybean oil stocks also rose modestly, increasing 7.4% from the end of October to just over 467.2 million pounds. Despite the monthly gain, refined oil inventories remained approximately 17.9% below levels recorded one year earlier.
Adapted from an article shared by OPIS. Image Credit: Flickr – United Soybean Board.