Entries for month: January 2010
January 19, 2010
According to the USDA/NASS Milk Production Report, released at 2:00pm CT today:
December 50-state MILK PRODUCTION @ 15.756 billion pounds, down 0.9% versus December 2008 levels.
December 23-state MILK PRODUCTION @ 14.614 billion pounds, down 0.8% versus December 2008 levels.
December 50-state COWS @ 9,082,000 head, down 252,000 head over December 2008 levels and down 3,000 head from the November 2009 estimate (the November estimate was revised down 6,000 head, making for a 9,000 head report-to-report change)
December 23-state COWS @ 8,313,000 head, down 206,000 head over December 2008 levels and unchanged from the November 2009 estimate (the November estimate was revised up 3,000 head, making for a 3,000 head report-to-report change)
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Category:
Flashes
January 19, 2010
Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4550/lb, up $0.0400/lb with 4 trades.
Barrel cheese closed at $1.4800/lb, up $0.0150/lb with no trades.
Butter closed at $1.5000/lb, down $0.0250/lb with no trades.
Grade A NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Category:
From the Trading Floor
January 19, 2010
Category:
Headlines
January 15, 2010
Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4150/lb, unchanged with 8 trades.
Barrel cheese closed at $1.4650/lb, up $0.0150/lb with no trades.
Butter closed at $1.5250/lb, up $0.1050/lb with 10 trades.
Grade A NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Category:
From the Trading Floor
January 15, 2010
Category:
Headlines
January 14, 2010
Dairy cow slaughter for the week ending January 2 was 43,644 head, down 12.8% from the same week last year.
Category:
Flashes
January 14, 2010
Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4150/lb, unchanged with 7 trades.
Barrel cheese closed at $1.4500/lb, up $0.0100/lb with no trades.
Butter closed at $1.4200/b, up $0.0500/lb with 8 trades.
Grade A NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, down $0.0700/lb with no trades.
Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.3000/lb, down $0.0850/lb with no trades.
Category:
From the Trading Floor
January 14, 2010
Category:
Headlines
January 13, 2010
Block cheddar cheese closed at $1.4150/lb, up $0.0050/lb with 4 trades.
Barrel cheese closed at $1.4400/lb, up $0.0050/lb with 3 trades.
Butter closed at $1.3700/lb, up $0.0200/lb with 5 trades.
Grade A NDM closed at $1.3700/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Extra Grade NDM closed at $1.3850/lb, unchanged with no trades.
Category:
From the Trading Floor
January 13, 2010
As retailers of all stripes wrestle with ways to adjust to the "new frugality" grocery stores in are in something of a unique, and perhaps advantaged, position. First, peopler are generally going to eat. Second, grocers have ostensibly been the beneficiaries of the trend reversal that has slowed restaurant visits.
This is not to say that it has been a walk in the park for grocers. Yesterday, SuperValu reported results for the quarter ending December 5. Same store sales were down 6.5%, with revenue declining 9.5%.The company did, however, top earnings expectations for the quarter.
During the earnings call with analysts, SuperValu executives made some thought provoking comments about general business conditions and the ways in which the chain (operator of Jewel, Albertson's, Save-A-Lot and Cub Foods) is interacting with customers. A few snippets (courtesy of seekingalpha.com):
"We are making progress in narrowing the gap between our regular shelf price and our promotional pricing."
"As a backdrop to the quarter, the overall industry remains challenged by the economic environment, heightened competitive activity and deflationary pressures."
"Industry wide we are seeing increased promotional activity targeting the thrift conscious consumer. In my 30 plus years in retail I have never witnessed the intense level of price reductions and promotional activity now occurring. My belief is that the recent industry trend towards lower pricing is here to stay. However, a hyper promotional environment can encourage routine cherry picking and may not in my view necessarily build long-term brand equity. This trend has on
ly intensified an already competitive landscape. Consumers have become adept at tracking weekly advertisements and executing with surgical precision the purchase of those items that maximize their own savings. Accordingly price tactics once used to drive foot traffic and tonnage are now driving lower transaction size and margin erosion."
"The fall in identical store sales was attributable to a 2% decline in customer count and a 4.5% drop in average basket size."
"Trade down remained a factor as customers continue to look for ways to stretch their shopping dollars."
"We continue to see approximately ½ items less per transaction. This trend was driven by the same factors I spoke to last quarter namely the consumer’s adherence to shopping lists and a reduced willingness to add impulse items to their baskets."
"We have seen some great success as we have looked at consolidating suppliers with some of our owned brand categories and we have seen really, really good benefit and cooperation partnership with our supplier partners clearly with the ones who end up getting the business."
Category:
The Economy
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