Ethanol production was still up in January compared to the previous year, and down only slightly from the previous month.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), American ethanol facilities produced 630,000 barrels per day (b/d) in January, up 120,000 b/d from January 2008, but down 50,000 from December of 2008.

Ethanol demand, as calculated by the Renewable Fuels Association, also saw a year over year increase of 123,000 b/d from January 2008. Ethanol demand also outpaced production once again in January. Total production of ethanol in January was almost 821 million gallons, while use was 837.6 million gallons.

For the first time, the EIA also included import data. For January, ethanol imports totaled 15.6 million gallons, while exports were zero.