Better than expected fourth-quarter 2012 results and a distinct softening of foodservice operator sales in the first quarter of 2013 has prompted Foodservice Equipment Reports to revise its forecasts of the foodservice equipment and supplies market.With the seven publicly reporting E&S companies posting 3% sales growth in the fourth quarter and the MAFSI Barometer, which…

Same-store sales and traffic took a beating in February, according to the latest tracking data from The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index, released Mar. 29. The overall index fell 0.8 point to 99.9, below the 100 level separating expansion from contraction. It was the fourth month in the last five that the index has…

Restaurant chains’ sales rebounded in 2012, according to preliminary data from Technomic Inc.’s annual “Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report,” released March 21. Combined system-wide sales for the 500 concepts rose 4.9%. The year was a marked improvement over 2011, when sales for the Top 500 managed only a 3.5% gain. In comparison, Technomic released a…

According to the 50 econometric groups surveyed by Blue Chip Economic Indicators each month, better times are indeed ahead. While in the March survey the group kept their 2013 consensus forecast at 1.9% growth of real gross domestic product and lowered the 2014 forecast a bit to 2.7%, they have maintained their long-range forecasts through…

Combined revenues for seven publicly reporting foodservice equipment and supplies companies grew 3% in the fourth quarter of 2012. But the overall gain for the calendar year was only 2.2%, as flat sales in the second and third quarters, especially among the equipment-oriented companies, depressed growth. Sales declines in Europe, and to a lesser extent…

The foodservice market in Canada outperformed the U.S. market in 2012 and is expected to do so again in 2013, in spite of some slowing, according to the latest forecast from Technomic Inc. The Chicago-based research firm predicts nominal sales will rise 3.9% for the year and, deflated by a forecast 2.8% rise in menu…

Overall wholesale food prices fell half a point in February, according to the NRA’s calculations on the three stages of wholesale food prices reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Big drops in prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, following big gains in January, led the decline. Changes in protein prices were mixed with poultry…

Perhaps it was the avoidance of the fiscal cliff, but something cheered up restaurant operators responding to the January survey for the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index. Seven of the eight RPI indicators were up during the month, pushing the overall index nearly a point higher to 100.6. It was the first month the…

In spite of the uncertainty of the federal fiscal cliff late last year, manufacturers’ representatives saw sales of like lines grow 3.8% in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the same period in ’11, according to the latest Business Barometer from the Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry, released last week. The reps…

Just like stock market investors, who have driven most equities indices to near record levels, consumers seem to be shrugging off the federal government dysfunction. Both major indexes of consumer confidence rose in February, as consumers focused on the improving jobs market. The final February reading on consumer sentiment from Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys…