US Ethanol Production Reaches Record Levels to Start 2026

By Ryan Hanrahan

Ethanol Producer Magazine’s Erin Krueger reported that “U.S. fuel ethanol production expanded by 9%, reaching a record high 1.196 million barrels per day the week ending Jan. 9, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Jan. 14. Stocks of fuel ethanol expanded by more than 3% and exports were up 5%.”

“The week ending Jan. 9 marks the fourth time since the beginning of November that U.S. fuel ethanol production has set a new record,” Krueger reported. “The 1.196 million barrels per day of production reported for the week ending Jan. 9 was up 98,000 barrels per day when compared to the 1.098 million barrels per day of production reported for the previous week, and up 101,000 barrels per day when compared to production reported for the same week of the previous year.”

“Weekly ending stocks of fuel ethanol expanded to 24.473 million barrels the week ending Jan. 9, up 821,000 barrels when compared to the 23.652 million barrels of stocks reported for the previous week,” Krueger reported. “When compared to the same week of last year, stocks for the week ending Jan. 9 were down 535,000 barrels.”

“Fuel ethanol exports averaged 119,000 barrels per day the week ending Jan. 9, up 6,000 barrels per day when compared to the 113,000 barrels per day of exports reported for the previous week,” Krueger reported. “When compared to the same week of last year, exports for the week ending Jan. 9 were down 6,000 barrels per day. No imports of fuel ethanol were reported for the week ending Jan. 9.”