Ethanol production plunges 20% amid COVID-19 pandemic

In Washington, D.C., the RFA reports that EIA released its Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending April 3, which reflected the deepening impact on the ethanol industry from the social-distancing and stay-at-home restrictions associated with COVID-19. Ethanol production plunged 20.0%, or 168,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 672,000 b/d—the lowest level since the EIA began reporting ethanol production statistics in 2010.

According to EIA data analyzed by the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol production plunged 20.0%, or 168,000 barrels per day (b/d), to 672,000 b/d—the lowest level since the EIA began reporting ethanol production statistics in 2010. Production was 33% below the same week in 2019. The four-week average ethanol production rate fell 9.5% to 888,000 b/d, equivalent to an annualized rate of 13.61 billion gallons.

Ethanol stocks surged 5.3% to a record 27.1 million barrels, eclipsing last week’s previous high. Inventories shifted higher across all regions.

The volume of gasoline supplied to the U.S. market, a measure of implied demand, collapsed to 5.065 million b/d (77.65 bg annualized), which was 23.9% lower than the prior week and 48.3% lower than a year ago. It was the smallest volume since the beginning of EIA’s dataset in 1991.

Refiner/blender net inputs of ethanol slumped to 502,000 b/d, equivalent to only 7.70 bg annualized, which was 16.5% below the prior week and 45.4% below the year-earlier level. It was the lowest level since the EIA began reporting weekly ethanol usage in 2010.

There were no imports of ethanol recorded for the fourth straight week. (Weekly export data for ethanol is not reported simultaneously; the latest export data is as of February 2020.)