U.S. consumers saw a record of almost 2.9 billion gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel in 2016, outpacing the previous record by nearly 40 percent. Also for the first time, the monthly market topped 300 million gallons, with December’s numbers coming in at 362 million gallons. The National Biodiesel Board welcomed the numbers but says that success is undermined by imports. Imports provide more than a third of the U.S. biodiesel market. Figures by the Environmental Protection Agency show the 2.9 billion gallons represented an 800 million gallon increase of biodiesel and renewable diesel from 2015. At the same time, domestic production rose from about 1.4 billion gallons in 2015 to more than 1.8 billion gallons in 2016, well below available capacity, according to NBB. Imports increased by more than 50 percent from an estimated 670 million gallons in 2015 to over one billion gallons in 2016, which the Biodiesel Board says shortchanges potential economic benefits to U.S. producers.