It should come as no surprise that demand for ethanol is setting records this year.

The Renewable Fuels Association just announced the lastest available statistics to confirm that. According to RFA, May ethanol demand set a record at 349,000 barrels per day. That’s well ahead of May’s production figure of 293,000 barrels per day.

Ethanol imports were down in May from April, according to RFA President Bob Dinneen. “The decline in imports from April to May explains much of the ‘distressed’ situation we have seen in the spot market for ethanol in recent weeks,” said Dinneen. “Imports from countries like Brazil were late arriving and caused some to become unnecessarily nervous about ethanol supplies. Fortunately, the U.S. ethanol industry has grown and continues to grow at a pace sufficient to meet surging demand for this cleaner-burning, domestically-produced renewable fuel.”