The domestic crush of soybeans is more during each of the first five months of the current marketing year (September 2012 through January 2013) than it was for the same time a year earlier. According to this analysis from Darrel Good at the University of Illinois, part of that success can be attributed to biodiesel:

The amount of soybean oil used for biodiesel production in the year ahead, and beyond, depends on a large number of factors. These include U.S. biofuels policy; the pace of expansion in the domestic ethanol blend wall; and the competition from other biodiesel feedstocks, particularly imported palm oil. The USDA currently projects that soybean oil used for biodiesel will reach 5.5 billion pounds in 2013-14, up from 4.8 billion pounds this year and 4.87 billion pounds last year. The projection represents nearly 28 percent of total projected domestic use and exports of U.S soybean oil.

The analysis goes on to say that in the future, soybean demand is expected to stay strong, once again, helped by the biodiesel demand.