US Ethanol Production Reaches Record Levels to Start 2026

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.”

2026 Ethanol Production Expected to be Near 2025 Levels

Krueger reported in a different article that “the EIA currently expects fuel ethanol production to average 1.07 million barrels per day in 2026, down from the December forecast of 1.08 million barrels per day. The January STEO contains the EIA’s first short-term outlooks for 2027, with the agency predicting fuel ethanol production will expand to 1.08 million gallons per year in 2027. Fuel ethanol production averaged 1.07 million barrels per day in 2025. ”

“On a quarterly basis, fuel ethanol production is expected to average 1.06 million barrels per day during the first and second quarters of 2026, expanding to 1.07 million barrels per day during the third quarter and 1.11 million barrels per day in the fourth quarter,” Krueger reported. “Moving into 2027, fuel ethanol production is currently expected to average 1.07 million barrels per day in the first and second quarters, 1.08 million barrels per day during the third quarter and 1.11 million barrels per day during the fourth quarter.”

Calls for Year-Round E15 Sales Intensify

While 2026 ethanol production is currently expected to remain near 2025 levels, allowing E15 fuel to be sold year-round could provide a boost. Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Monday called on Congress to pass legislation to allow for year-round E15.”

“Congress needs to pass year-round E15 because the Trump administration ‘has gone as far as we can regulatorily,’ Rollins told Farm Bureau members,” according to Clayton’s reporting. “‘Congress must do its job and pass nationwide, year-round E15 to continue to drive domestic crop demand — a clear win-win for farmers and consumers,’ she said.”

“The secretary said Trump is ‘the most pro-biofuels leader in history,’ as she cited one of the president’s first executive orders on energy security that identified year-round E15 ‘as a solution for extending supplies and reducing pump prices.’ Rollins also pointed to EPA proposing the ‘highest and most aggressive’ renewable volume obligations (RVOs) in history,” Clayton reported. “The National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) on Monday called again for year-round E15 legislation while expressing ‘alarm’ over USDA’s latest forecast of a 17.02-billion-bushel corn crop and larger ending stocks for the 2025-26 crop. AFBF President Zippy Duvall also called on Congress to pass year-round E15.”