U.S. ethanol processors are crushing corn at the second-fastest pace on record amid large supplies and strong export demand. U.S. corn crushed for ethanol totaled 471.9 million bushels in November, unchanged from the same period last year. Year-to-date crushings for the marketing year that began on Sept. 1 reached 1.38 billion bushels, up 0.4 percent from a year ago.

Corn used for fuel ethanol is running at the fastest pace since the 2017/18 season when demand hit a record 5.605 billion bushels. Processors are on track to meet the demand target of 5.6 billion for the current season. Corn used for ethanol is forecast to account for about 34 percent of total corn demand this season.

U.S. ethanol production continued to run at a record pace in December. Production jumped 2.3 percent during the week ending Dec. 26 to an average of 1.120 million barrels a day. Output hit a record 16 billion gallons in 2024, which is expected to have risen to another record in 2025.

Ethanol production growth has been attributed to growth in U.S. exports. Exports have seen consistent growth over the past couple of years, driven by climate policy in Canada and the European Union.

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