According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US ethanol production has been increasing steadily since 2013, from around 850 kbd in 2013 to 1.02 mb/d in the first half of 2017. Over the last four years (including in the first six months of 2017), US bioethanol production capacity has been rising and producers have kept operating above nameplate production capacities.
The growth in production was sustained by higher Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets and by a higher consumption of domestic motor gasoline, almost all of which is now blended with 10% ethanol by volume. The US gasoline consumption rose from 8.7 mb/d in 2012 to 9.3 mb/d in 2016, raising by 7% the additional bioethanol demand. Demand for higher ethanol blends such as E15 and E85 remains limited.
The United States also export bioethanol (96 kb/d on average in the first four months of 2017, a 40% growth over the same period in 2016) and net exports should reach 80 kb/d in 2017, exceeding the previous record of 70 kb/d in 2011.