As interesting and important as export sales and export inspection data from USDA/FAS and FGIS may be, they are not the last word on the volume of corn, wheat and soybean exports. That comes from the monthly data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau.With exports a key component in any analysis of U.S. grain and soybean supply/demand fundamentals, market participants and analysts focus intently on the USDA/FAS daily and weekly export sales reports in order to keep track of total export commitments (shipments plus open sales). They also follow the FGIS weekly reports on the volumes of grain and soybeans inspected for export to see how well actual shipments are matching those commitments, and futures market prices are often moved by perceptions...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.