ArrowStream Foodservice Blog

October pork belly disappearance (consumption and exports) was 4 percent better than prior year, while total pork disappearance was up 4.9 percent.

ArrowStream economists noted this week that October's restaurant traffic in the U.S. was nothing to get excited about, up just .8 percent from the prior year.

"As the chart shows, year-over-year restaurant traffic has been below trend-line growth for the last several months," said David Maloni, ArrowStream's chief economist. "Sure, we are going up against some big comparable months when delivery was taking off last year. However, this should be watched closely."

This week David Maloni, ArrowStream economist, noted that several times this fall, the data seems to indicate that the top in the U.S. cattle herd has occurred.

ArrowStream economist, David Maloni, reported this week that the USDA is forecasting China to import an additional 1.9 billion pounds of pork in 2020 due to African Swine Fever, noting that more than one third is expected to come from the U.S.

Our economists noted last week that September’s overall restaurant sales data was solid, carrying a near-record percentage of total retail sales. David Maloni, chief economist at ArrowStream, points out in the chart that this has been a building trend for some time.

This week, the USDA released its dairy cold storage data, and David Maloni, ArrowStream economist, noted that the news was generally favorable.

Rising labor costs aren’t only a concern for foodservice operators, they’re also a concern for the industry’s supply chain. David Maloni, ArrowStream economist, noted that food manufacturing wages have been on the rise as well, climbing an average of 3 percent annually during the last five years.

David Maloni, ArrowStream's economist, noted this week that chicken wing prices haven’t rallied as they usually do this time of year. 

David Maloni, ArrowStream commodity expert, stated this week that domestic lean beef trim prices have been resilient the last few weeks. What's the cause?