How will the economy’s performance in March impact domestic food demand?Economic data for March has been compiled, and it shows a solid performance. That should support future economic growth this year, which will help drive domestic food demand. Some of the highlights are discussed below.New Orders for Durable Goods Rose 0.7 percentMost importantly, non-defense capital goods (excluding aircraft), the measure used to calculate business investment for gross domestic product (GDP) purposes, increased at a 7.5 percent annual rate in Q1 2017 versus Q4 2016. This represents the fastest growth of business investment in equipment since the big slowdown in drilling activity began in Q3 2014. It follows gains in January and February as well. There i...
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.