Economic Contribution of the Ethanol Industry

The ethanol industry spent $16 billion in 2009 on raw materials, other inputs, goods and services to produce more than nine billion gallons of ethanol. Most of this spending was for corn and other grains used as raw material to make ethanol. An additional $1.7 billion was spent on tranportation of grain and other inputs to production facilities; ethanol from the plant to terminals where it is blended with gasoline; and co-products to end-users. All expenditures for operations, transportation and spending for new plants under construction added an estimated $53.3 billion in additional gross output in the U.S. economy, increased household earnings by nearly $16 billion, and created over 399,283 jobs.