November 19, 2009 - Capacity to produce fuel ethanol from corn nearly tripled between January 2006 and January 2009. However, over the past 18 months, a combination of surplus production capacity, the decline of gasoline prices from their mid-2008 peak level, and high corn prices that boosted producers’ input costs have resulted in a sharp decline in ethanol margins.

The combination of economic pressures on capacity led some producers to idle plants, and in some cases, file for bankruptcy.

As Table 1 shows, ethanol demand has been rising steadily since 2002. Much of the demand growth through 2004 stemmed from several States banning the use of MTBE from the gasoline pool, because fuel ethanol was the only readily available MTBE substitute.....more (this link will take you to the Energy Information Administration website)