Nonfarm Payroll Growth Revised Down by 818,000, Labor Department Says

The U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the 12-month period through March 2024, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. As part of its preliminary annual benchmark revisions to the nonfarm payroll numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the actual job growth was nearly 30% less than the initially reported 2.9 million from April 2023 through March of this year. The revision to the total payrolls level of -0.5% is the largest since 2009. The numbers are routinely revised each month, but the BLS does a broader revision each year when it gets the results of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. MORE

Source: IMA

Food Industry, Economists: Kamala Harris’ Ban on Price Gouging Misses the Mark

Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris called for a federal ban on price gouging on food and grocery products, just a few days before the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was slated to kick off today and formally name her as the Democrats’ lead candidate for the 2024 Presidential Election. In the days since, food industry groups — particularly those in the meat and poultry industries, which have been specific targets of current President Joe Biden, Harris and the current administration — have panned the concept as potentially more harmful to consumers than helpful. The Meat Institute released a statement from president and CEO Julie Anna Potts saying a federal ban of this type “does not address the real causes of inflation.” MORE

Source: FoodProcessing.com

US Economic Growth for Last Quarter is Revised up to a Solid 3% Annual Rate

The U.S. economy grew last quarter at a healthy 3% annual pace, fueled by strong consumer spending and business investment, the government said Thursday in an upgrade of its initial assessment. Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity, rose at a 2.9% annual rate last quarter. That was up from 2.3% in the government’s initial estimate. Business investment expanded at a 7.5% rate, led by a 10.8% jump in investment in equipment. MORE

Source: WMC

A Look at the Approved FDA Reorganization

A year and a half after "reimagining" a newly unified FDA, the agency's Human Foods Program was approved May 30 by FDA's parent, the Dept. of Health and Human Services and targeted for implementation this fall. How will it change the regulation of the food industry? MORE

Source: CLFP

Canada Railroads Look to Restart as Union Returns to Work

It could take the two largest Canadian railroads a week or more to recover from the effects of a shutdown that briefly stalled billions in freight including transborder trade with the United States. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Kansas City saw most of their unionized workforce go back to work Monday, days after the Canada Industrial Relations Board affirmed an order by Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon ending a lockout by the carriers and ordering binding arbitration to resolve the contract standoff with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference. MORE

Source: FreightWaves 

Falling Exports, Rising Imports to Drive Record Ag Trade Deficit In ’25

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its latest agricultural trade forecast, predicting a sharp rise in the trade deficit for the upcoming fiscal year 2025. The forecast anticipates a record deficit of $42.5 billion, a significant increase from the $30.5 billion deficit projected for FY 2024, which ends on September 30th. This widening gap is attributed to both a decline in agricultural exports and a rise in imports. Notably, soybean exports are expected to decrease by $1.5 billion to $22.9 billion, while corn exports are forecast to drop by $900 million to $12.2 billion. MORE

Source: Constitution Partners

US Frozen Food Production Industry Market Research Report 2024: Consumers Trade Up to Newer, Healthier and Premium Varieties of Goods That Command Higher Retail Prices

The "Frozen Food Production in the US - Industry Market Research Report" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Frozen food producers have expanded through the end of 2024 as boosting disposable income has allowed consumers to trade up to newer, healthier and premium varieties of goods that command higher retail prices. With more money to spend, some consumers have opted for fresh produce over frozen varieties, stifling expansion. Mounting health concerns have also led some consumers to purchase fewer frozen foods, which are often perceived as less healthy than fresher meals, despite new studies indicating otherwise. Frozen food producers have responded by introducing products with healthier, more nutritious ingredients. MORE

Source: Constitution Partners

ACC Says White House Decision to Support Virgin Resin Caps Puts Jobs at Risk

The American Chemistry Council is sharply critical of the decision by President Joe Biden's administration to support limiting virgin plastics production as part of ongoing talks for a United Nations-based plastics treaty. Chris Jahn, ACC President & CEO, said the new U.S. stance risks outsourcing manufacturing jobs and would make it harder to get votes needed to adopt the treaty. "With today's shift in position to support plastic production caps and regulate chemicals via the U.N. Plastics Agreement, the White House has signaled it is willing to betray U.S. manufacturing and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it supports," Jahn said. MORE

Source: WMC

Food Companies’ Claims Get More Attention from the USDA

The USDA has released new guidance for food companies that make animal-raising and climate claims about their food. This updated guideline makes recommendations to strengthen the documentation supporting animal-raising or environment-related claims on meat or poultry product labeling. The new action builds on USDA’s work to protect consumers from false and misleading labels and to implement President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American economy. MORE

Source: Constitution Partners

Can Front-of-Pack Labelling Improve Consumer Perceptions of Products in Plastic Packaging?

When a healthy product is encased in plastic packaging, this can negatively affect consumer perceptions of the product. Can front-of-pack labeling mitigate this? MORE

Source: CLFP

AI in the Food Industry — How Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Are Transforming the Sector

Technology is typically the first thing that comes to mind when discussing the setbacks of the modern food industry and the strategies to overcome them. In today's tech-driven age, the integration of AI in fast food industry is indispensable to streamline day-to-day operations, address industry challenges and eventually transform business in a major way! MORE

Source: CLFP

Innovation Spotlight: How Conagra is Leveraging AI to Support Employees

In an industry that relies on its people, some consumer-packaged goods companies have embraced how AI can support -- not supplant -- their teams that are integral to the mission of delivering for the consumer, and Conagra Brands is one such company leading in this space. The company is leveraging the responsible use of AI to enhance and support its efforts by "putting employees at the center of its AI strategy" across its IT, Supply Chain, R&D, Demand Science, Brand and Design operations. Conagra is utilizing generative AI, intelligent automation and strategic collaborations with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) and Microsoft to empower employees with resources that accelerate decision-making, efficiently synthesize large data sets and enable growth. MORE

Source: CBA

3 Ways Food Manufacturers Can Overcome Maintenance Challenges to Improve Operational Excellence

Unplanned downtime is estimated to cost the industrial manufacturing industry $50 billion each year as a whole. Food manufacturers are no exception. Common roadblocks such as a failure to leverage real-time data, poor internal communications and outdated processes hold manufacturers back from utilizing all resources and maximizing factory uptime, ultimately costing them millions on maintenance. MORE

Source: CLFP

Choosing the Right Equipment to Help you Keep up in the Prepared Foods Market

The market for prepared foods is exploding. Walk into any grocery store, and you'll see cases of pre-made sandwiches, salads, snacks and meals. The global prepared foods market, valued at $166 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to $305 billion by 2032. MORE

Source: CLFP

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