WASHINGTON — U.S. ethanol production was the second highest on record in December 2013, the most recent month for which data was available from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Production totaled 1,235 million gallons in December, second only to 1,248 million gallons in December 2011, according to D.O.E. data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 13. December 2013 output was up 5% from November 2013 and was up 13% from December 2012.
Fuel ethanol production, by month Source: U.S. Department of Energy |
For the calendar year, 2013 ethanol production was the second highest on record at 13,312 million gallons, up less than 1% from 2012 but down 4% from 13,929 million gallons in 2011.
The U.S.D.A. estimated 4,648 million bus of corn, or about 43% of 2012 corn production, was used to produce ethanol in the marketing year 2012-13 (ended Aug. 31, 2013), down from 5,000 million bus in 2011-12 (40% of the crop). The U.S.D.A. projected 2013-14 corn use for ethanol also at 5,000 million bus (36% of the crop).