Alto Ingredients Inc (ALTO)

[Harry Winston]

There was a conflict between the good health of the ethanol industry, as reported by the articles I've supplied in the past week, and the downward trend in the PEIX price. In addition, I've looked for some news about the two PEIX plants in Aurora, Nebraska.

I was hoping to see that Pacific Ethanol would restart those plants after the floodwaters receded, but I didn't see any such news, so I sold my shares. It's possible that the plant managers saw and reported back to their corporate headquarters that the damage caused by the flood was severe and that the plants would have to remain closed or even scrapped. I'm still looking for news updates on those plants.

Regardless of the status of Pacific Ethanol's two Nebraska plants, the health of the ethanol industry is good. Imports to India and South Korea are at record levels, and the increase in E85 sales from part-year to full-year are signs of an increase in the demand for ethanol.