The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the Jan. 2013 edition of its Monthly Energy Review, which includes ethanol production and use statistics through Oct. 2012. According to the EIA’s Fuel Ethanol Overview, ethanol consumption for the first 10 months of 2012 was up slightly compared to the two previous years.

Regarding production, the U.S. industry produced 1.065 billion gallons of ethanol in Oct. 2012. The total for the first 10 months of the year was 11.151 billion gallons, a decrease when compared to the 11.489 billion gallons produced during the same period of 2011. However, it was an increase over the 10.937 billion gallons produced during the first 10 months of 2010.

Net imports in Oct. 2012 measured 609,000 barrels, a slight decrease compared to the 964,000 barrels imported the prior month. For the first 10 months of the year, the net import level is -6.92 million barrels. The relative net import levels for the same periods of 2011 and 2010 were -18.457 million barrels and -6.481 million barrels.

While production was down, ethanol consumption was up in October. The U.S. consumed 1.144 billion gallons of ethanol during the month, an increase over the 1.03 billion gallons consumed in Sept. 2012. The consumption total for the first 10 months of the year reached 10.84 billion gallons. The relative consumption levels for the first 10 months of 2011 and 2010 measured 10.71 billion gallons and 10.636 billion gallons.