This news item gives dealers an idea of the push toward getting more ethanol—and renewable fuels in general—into America’s transportation fuel system. As many industry officials have said, more ethanol and new blends are eventually coming to a fuel tank near you, and it’s up to manufacturers and dealers to adapt and develop strategies to turn the issue in their favor.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) raised the 2009 Renewable Fuel Standard to 10.21% to ensure that at least 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuels be blended into transportation gasoline. This standard is used by obligated parties—refiners, importers and blenders (other than oxygen blenders)—to calculate their renewable volume obligation. The EPA expects the 11.1 billion gallons of renewable fuel required in 2009 ultimately to include approximately 0.5 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel.

This year’s GIE+EXPO in Louisville October 23-25 featured the three “Es” on every dealer’s mind: The economy, the election and ethanol, though not necessarily in that order depending on the topic at hand. For dealers who were at GIE+EXPO and for those who missed it, here’s the scoop on what industry leaders, suppliers and dealers had to say about the dealer outlook towards the next year, especially when grappling with those three “Es”:

• Financing and credit extensions are going to be much tougher to come by in the next year-plus. Dealers need to be more cautious and smarter than ever when buying from suppliers and seeking optimum inventory levels. Finding good, old-fashioned local sources of credit is imperative.