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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Maps and Data

Find maps and charts showing transportation data and trends related to alternative fuels and vehicles.

U.S. Production, Consumption, and Trade of Ethanol

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Production 1405.026 1465.002 1622.334 1765.176 2140.152 2804.424 3404.436 3904.362 4884 6521 9309 10938 13298 13948
Net Increase* -17.43 -22.302 31.08 -24.486 -67.032 21.588 147.756 154.266 597 365 374 99 -440 -1077
Consumption 1387.596 1442.7 1653.414 1740.69 2073.12 2826.012 3552.192 4058.628 5481 6886 9683 11037 12858 12871
Source: EIA Annual Energy Review, 2011 Table 10.3 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration
Notes: *Net Increase through Imports and Stock Change
This chart shows the trend in total ethanol fuel production and consumption from 1998 to 2011. Use of ethanol as a gasoline additive has been increasing steadily during the past two decades. Its use was spurred by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (and subsequent laws), which mandated the sale of oxygenated fuels in areas with unhealthy levels of carbon monoxide. Today, E10 (an ethanol-gasoline blend containing 10 percent ethanol) is sold in all 50 states in order to boost octane, meet air quality requirements, or satisfy the Renewable Fuel Standard. Increases in ethanol use are also partly due to more widespread availability of flex-fuel vehicles, which can use blends as high as E85, and greater availability of E85 stations. The vast majority of ethanol used as vehicle fuel in the United States is produced domestically; the United States is the world's No. 1 ethanol producer, by volume.