Maybe the much expected increases in food prices have finally arrived. Overall food prices at the wholesale level jumped 1% in May, according to calculations by the National Restaurant Association, the largest monthly gain since last November and the first gain in three months. The Producer Price Index data, from which the wholesale food price…

Restaurant operators are apparently getting over the jitters many had in the first quarter. Fueled by gains in all four components of the Expectations Index, as well as improved current same-store sales and traffic, the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index rose for the second straight month, according the April report released May 31. The…

In spite of inclement weather and an atypical surge in gasoline prices in the first quarter this year, restaurant traffic was even with the first quarter 2012, according the latest data from The NPD Group. The research firm reported a 2% increase in spending at U.S. restaurants during the period. The group also said it…

Let’s hope we don’t get fooled again. The U.S. economy, at least as measured by jobs growth and consumer confidence, finally seems to be gaining some traction. Nonfarm payroll employment posted another moderate gain of 175,000 jobs in May and over the past 12 months has averaged 172,000 new jobs monthly, according to the latest…

Sales of foodservice equipment and supplies grew a modest 2.4% in the first quarter of 2013, versus the comparable quarter last year, according to the quarterly Business Barometer maintained by the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry. It was the slowest growth in any quarter since the Barometer signaled recovery in the fourth quarter…

Growth of foodservice operator sales is expected to slow this year and pick up steam only slightly next year, according to new forecasts and revisions from Technomic Inc. The Chicago-based research firm trimmed its new forecast for the current year, released at the end of the NRA Show, to 3.8% from 3.9% in the firm’s…

It’s been a rule of U.S. foodservice for decades that chain restaurant operators grow faster than independents. And big chains—those with more than 500 units, which tend to be big quick-service brands—appear to remain dominant in terms of traffic and sales growth. But new data from Technomic Inc.’s just released annual Top 500 Report and…

Generally, the mood and attitude of nearly everyone—operators, dealers, consultants and manufacturers—we spoke to at the National Restaurant Association’s annual show in Chicago May 18-21, was good. Most reported a slow, but not disastrous, first quarter. The first-quarter numbers from MAFSI and the publicly reporting E&S companies bear this out with very modest sales growth…

Registered yet? How are you going to plan for next year if you don’t know the outlook? Foodservice Equipment Reports’ 2014 E&S Market Forecast President’s Preview will be held Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Ill. This annual one-day event provides manufacturers, operators, dealers and others in the industry an in-depth…

It was clearly a slow first quarter for many foodservice equipment and supplies companies. The seven publicly reporting E&S companies managed to increase combined sales only 1.8% in the first quarter of 2013 versus the first quarter last year. Four of the seven reported declines in revenues, including both Libbey Foodservice and Carlisle Foodservice on…