U.S. exports and total usage of ethanol hit record highs last week, just as the Energy Information Administration marked the first anniversary of including ethanol export estimates in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) was instrumental in getting EIA to include the additional data, according to RFA Chief Economist Scott Richman. “Prior to May 2023, EIA’s flagship weekly fuels report gave an incomplete picture of ethanol supply and demand, and market participants had to wait for monthly Census Bureau releases to get reliable export data,” Richman wrote in a blog post.
Ethanol exports were 62.3 million gallons last week. Not only was this the highest level since EIA began reporting estimates last year, but it also exceeded the maximum weekly pace implied by monthly Census export data prior to that.
Additionally, U.S. refiner and blender net inputs of ethanol, a measure of ethanol usage that accounts for approximately 97% of EIA’s final consumption estimate, were 275.5 million gallons. For the second straight week, net inputs were at their highest level since the week leading up to Independence Day 2021.
On an annualized basis, the combined pace of exports and domestic usage was 17.7 billion gallons – by far a record. The previous high-water mark, set in December, was 16.8 billion gallons.