With prices for key metals and other commodities running 25% to 35% higher than a year ago, many suppliers of foodservice equipment and supplies have told FER Fortnightly they want to or will raise prices late this year and early next. (See related stories below). Whether they will be able to push through the increases…

“Everyone at every level of the materials supply chain is trying to raise prices,” says Tom Stundza, senior analyst in the Pricing and Purchasing Group at IHS/Global Insight. “The problem is there’s a lot of buyer resistance.” He doesn’t expect much change in this situation the next few months. “We won’t see a change until…

While many foodservice equipment and supplies manufacturers have told FER Fortnightly they plan to raise prices later this year or early next, Kent Motes, CEO at AutoQuotes Inc., says most have yet to make formal announcements. Only 12 manufacturers announced list-price increases for November, not significantly higher than the eight increases taken in November 2009.…

Improved sales and traffic and a significant increase in operator optimism pushed the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index back into positive territory in September. From May through August, the index had lagged below the 100 level that signals contraction versus expansion. The index moved above 100 in March and April for the first time…

The U.S. economy managed 2% real growth of gross domestic product in the third quarter, according to the advance estimate from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the Commerce Department, released last Friday. While the rate of growth is higher than the paltry 1.7% rise in real GDP in the second quarter,…

While most major global foodservice markets continued to experience negative traffic trends, increased spending per visit had some markets returning to positive sales growth, according to second-quarter data from NPD Group. In several countries tracked by NPD’s CREST research, increased check average overcame fewer visits. In the U.S. market, traffic declined 1.5%, but average checks…

Jobs growth remained sluggish in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Oct. 8. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 95,000, as government employment dropped by 159,000. The private sector added 64,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.6%. One of the bright spots in the report was continued growth in foodservice sector jobs.…

Strongly higher food prices at both the wholesale and consumer levels helped push both the Consumer Price and Producer Price Indexes higher in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. After declines four of the past five months, wholesale food prices at the “finished” level jumped 1.2%. A 5.2% increase in meat prices…

After several months of declining forecasts, the economic outlook for the U.S. mostly stabilized in this month’s consensus forecasts from Blue Chip Economic Indicators. The more than 50 major economic forecasting groups the newsletter polled in early October kept the forecast at 2.7% real growth of gross domestic product in the U.S. this year and…

Foodservice Equipment Reports E&S Market Forecast package is available for purchase for $449. Purchasers will receive the entire seven-section forecast, including detailed data and analysis of economic and operator trends, exclusive commodity price forecasts from Tom Stundza of IHS Global Insight; E&S manufacturer list-price data from AutoQuotes Inc.; a ranking and analysis of the Top…