(April 4, 2011) Washington – The first monthly ethanol production data for 2011 shows ethanol producers continuing strong production numbers, but demand calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association showed a dramatic drop.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), monthly ethanol production for January 2011 stood at just over 920,000 barrels per day (b/d), or 1.2 billion gallons for the month. That is a slight increase over December’s average of 917,000 b/d. January production on an annualized basis represents 14.1 billion gallons.

Stocks for ethanol rose dramatically to more than 868 million gallons, an increase of more than 114 million gallons from the month prior.

As a result of the increase in stocks, total demand for ethanol as calculated by the RFA dropped precipitously to 832,000 b/d. That is down 9% from 918,000 b/d in December 2010. Total demand includes exports, which the EIA is reporting for the first time. According to EIA data, January exports of ethanol were more than 57 million gallons. Excluding exports, domestic demand for ethanol stood at 788,000 b/d.

The RFA released the following statistics:

January 2011 Statistics
(mg = million gallons; b/d = barrels per day)

*Source: Energy Information Administration, Renewable Fuels Association
**Source: RFA calculations, includes exports
***Domestic use is Total Ethanol Use minus exports