After posting strong gains in six of the first seven months of 2014, food prices at the wholesale level fell 0.3% in September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Restaurant Association. The drop follows a modest 0.1% dip in August.But thanks to the increases earlier this year, wholesale food prices…

Fears of Ebola and the continuing strife in the Middle East do not appear to be dampening consumer optimism, as fundamentals, such as strong job gains, an improved housing market and falling gasoline prices, buoy consumer confidence. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment reached a post-recession high of 86.4 in the mid-month…

U.S. nonfarm payroll employment increased by 248,000 in September, while the unemployment rate fell below 6% for the first time since before the Great Recession, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Oct. 3. It was a welcome surge after a slowdown in jobs growth in August, although the BLS revised…

State tax revenues fell 1.7% in the second quarter of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013, according to preliminary data compiled by the Rockefeller Institute of Government based in Albany, N.Y. The decline follows a 0.3% drop in overall state revenues in the first quarter, the first consecutive declines since the recession hit…

The 50 leading economic forecasting groups polled monthly by Blue Chip Economic Indicators were slightly more optimistic about growth in the U.S. economy over the next 18 months, as reported in the October newsletter. The more upbeat assessment for U.S. growth was offset by increasing worries about the growth of economies in Europe and Asia.…

The National Restaurant Association released its August Restaurant Performance Index report yesterday, just as we went to press. Spurred by stronger same-store sales and customer traffic levels and a more optimistic outlook among restaurant operators, the RPI posted a solid gain for the month. The overall index stood at 101.9 in August, up 1.0 percent…

Technomic is continuing its "Technomic Talks" webinar series, launched last year in cooperation with the Int’l. Foodservice Distributors Association. Each 20-minute webinar covers a major trend of interest to foodservice industry professionals. All sessions begin at 10 a.m. Central Time. For more information on each session and to register, go to

Despite slow growth in wages and hours, American consumers are finally beginning to believe their income prospects are improving, according the latest gauge of consumer confidence from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan and The Conference Board. The Consumer Sentiment Index from UM hit 84.6 in September, up from 82.5 in August, its second highest reading in…

Foodservice operators, who have been dealing with strong increases in wholesale food prices, caught a bit of a break in August, according to Producer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Average whole prices fell 0.1% in August, only the second month this year that prices have fallen. Even beef and pork prices,…

Restaurant visits were flat in the second quarter compared with the same quarter in 2013, the NPD Group has reported. Still, the performance represents improvement following 1% traffic declines in the fourth quarter 2014 and the first quarter this year. Chain restaurants continued to take share from independents, the data show. Visits to major chains,…