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Here's another sign that the ethanol market is losing steam. Alchem Ltd. plans to temporarily close its ethanol plant in Grafton, N.D., which is served by BNSF Railway Co.

Rising corn prices and falling ethanol prices have prompted the shut down, which will occur in about two weeks and affect 30 workers, Alchem said. Company officials didn't say when the facility would reopen.

The plant, which opened in 1983, consumes about 3.8 million bushels of corn to produce 10.5 million gallons of ethanol annually. The facility closed for several months in 1997 because of high corn prices.

To read Managing Editor Jeff Stagl's blog on the ethanol market, "Signs of an ethanol bust? More like a slightly quieter boom," click here.