ArrowStream Foodservice Blog

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?

Cheese prices continue to rise with both blocks and barrels reaching fresh multi-year highs this week. 

The USDA projects the total net farm income to rise to $88 billion this year. ArrowStream's commodity expert, David Maloni, noted that this would be $4 billion more than the previous year and the highest since 2014.

ArrowStream commodity expert David Maloni noted the August 1st U.S. cattle-on-feed inventory was just 0.2 percent larger than last year with placements into feedlots in July 2.1 percent lower vs. 2018. Maloni explains why this is significant and what the projection models show for beef supplies:

David Maloni, ArrowStream commodity expert, noted this week that July domestic milk production was nothing to get excited about as it was flat with the prior year.

There have been questions in the trade about the USDA corn acreage and yield estimate numbers from last Monday’s reports. But, David Maloni, ArrowStream commodities expert, explains that, "reported prevent plant acreage through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) supports the acreage number. And, the corn condition ratings support the USDA yields number at 169.5. Although crop conditions aren't ideal, this is not 2012, which the chart shows. We at ArrowStream think there is a risk that the USDA reduces its corn yield and harvested acreage numbers in the coming months. But we highly doubt this will translate to sharply higher feed prices for 2020."

ArrowStream's commodity expert, David Maloni, noted from Friday’s monthly export data that pork carcasses were shipped to China in June for the first time on record and may signal an increase in U.S. pork exports to China in the coming months, despite the ongoing trade negotiations.

Maloni stated this week that, "there is no sign of a major world protein shortage in the U.S. trade data. U.S. total pork, chicken, turkey, and beef exports in June were 1.4 percent less than the previous year and in line with historical averages. In other words, no surge, but this is important to watch as 2020 approaches."