The U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly advance retail sales report, released Tuesday, suggests that owning a restaurant is likely to be a sales-boosting endeavor in 2019. Okay, it didn’t really say that, but the report holds some interesting insights for the food and agribusiness industries (as well as restaurants). The first notable point in the report was that April’s total retail sales figure was up 3 percent versus the same period in 2018. The overall robust growth in retail sales suggests the backbone of the U.S. economy, consumer spending, is healthy and should support economic expansion.
One reason consumer spending should remain healthy going forward is that the labor market continues to tighten. The number of job ope...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
