Beyond Meat sell-off further ignites debate about demand for plant-based protein. From my perspective, Beyond Meat’s earnings and the fallout have been the most interesting CPG-related news this week. The […]
TreeHouse Foods, a major manufacturer of private-label food products, announced that its board is exploring strategic alternatives. Potential strategic actions include a possible sale of the company or the divestment […]
Kellogg Co. manages to reaffirm earnings guidance despite both industrywide and company-specific challenges. I find it impressive that the company was able to retain its guidance for both operating profit […]
Vertical farming promises to be one of the most impactful trends to food in the coming years. In fact, it was listed as the No. 1 trend in Whole Foods’ […]
It’s times like these that it’s more fun to write about transportation issues than to actually have to move freight (not that I’ve ever actually moved freight). On Wednesday, topics […]
With most CPG companies already having reported first-quarter earnings, the CPG-related news this week centered around descriptions of consumer strength from their retail partners. In addition, the largest CPG companies, […]
As the equity indexes declined on Tuesday, two freight indexes contained in SONAR were up sharply after incorporating data from the past week: the national dry van and reefer spot […]
As the economy surges, inflation pressures are becoming more widespread. Everywhere you look, there are headline-grabbing reports of rising prices. Some areas where inflation is acute are in industrial commodities […]
Wall Street didn’t like Clorox’s earnings report late last week. There were analyst downgrades and shares are down from where they were a week ago and down 10% from their […]
In past editions of The Stockout, I’ve discussed cost inflation trends, which I believe is the industry’s largest issue currently aside from pandemic-related structural changes in demand. In recent days, […]
Tuesday morning there was big news out of the rail industry: Canadian National Railway (CN) made a stronger offer to acquire the Kansas City Southern (KCS) Railway than what Canadian […]
In today’s The Stockout, I discuss first-quarter earnings reports from Pepsi and L’Oreal. L’Oreal, in particular, has a lot of momentum of late with shares reaching all-time highs as investors […]
Most public CPG companies are in their quiet periods ahead of earnings. But there were still significant developments with the CPG companies that are not (yet) public. There is a […]
When we look back at the COVID era, we will remember stockouts of toilet paper, cleared-out grocery store shelves and the impossibility of getting the latest video game console because […]
In today’s edition of The Stockout CPG-focused newsletter, I discuss a company that has been dealing with exactly that — stockouts. McCormick & Co., the world’s largest spice company, reported […]
Most CPG companies will report earnings next month, but with an off-cycle fiscal year ending May 31, General Mills reported its fiscal third quarter Wednesday morning for the December-February quarter. […]
Earlier this week in The Stockout CPG-focused newsletter, I discussed the impact that China’s efforts to replenish its hog population was having on corn and soybean exports as well as […]
Cargill’s announcement last week that it is making a nearly half-billion dollar investment in soybeans caught my attention because it suggests that one of the world’s largest food producers believes […]
Earlier this week, in the last edition of The Stockout CPG-focused newsletter, I focused on reefer since the many CPG companies that require temperature controls are facing an even tighter […]
Just as Pat Riley trademarked the term “three-peat,” I’m considering trademarking “coin flip compliance.” That’s the state of the reefer market today with reefer carriers rejecting 50.3% of tendered loads, […]
This article was originally published in The Stockout newsletter on February 3, 2021. To sign up for The Stockout newsletter, click here. We recommend that CPG companies, and others that […]
One financial metric in the CPG world that stands out to me is AB InBev’s net debt-to-EBITDA ratio: 4.8x. The company has been highly leveraged since its acquisition of SABMiller […]
Plant-based meat alternatives are to the food industry what electric vehicles are to the transportation industry — a niche with a lot of startups today but maybe not so niche […]
Bid season is here, which means contract rates are catching up to spot rates and in turn loosening capacity.
Sustainability efforts are becoming a major focus for CPG companies as consumers demand investments in a cleaner future.
Capital Logistics COO Michael Feig says it’s too early to tell if the summer will bring tight capacity to the reefer market.
Reefer truckload capacity begins to tighten further in the Midwest and Southeast
Reefer trailer orders were over 100% above replacement levels in November which shows capacity is trying to return to the reefer markets.
Droughts and geopolitical tensions are driving up cotton, corn, and soybean prices and in turn impacting supply chain costs.
Reefer spot volume volatility has exploded across the nation over the past week.
Lumber Prices are soaring which is threatening CPG companies with higher supply chain costs.
Reefer tenders have strengthened significantly out of the nation’s largest markets.
New Class 8 truck orders are increasing and this trend is likely to continue through 2021.
Coca-Cola slashes jobs in an effort to restructure.
Frito-Lay is responding to customers’ demands and have introduced an option for consumers to customize their variety packs.
As states prepare to administer COVID-19 vaccines, it is still unclear who will be deemed “essential”.
Reefer capacity is extremely tight across the country and especially out of port markets.
A coronavirus outbreak in Frito-Lay’s Vancouver manufacturing and distribution facility causes a temporary shutdown of the facility.
The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act is set to disrupt many CPG supply chains.
DIY (Do It Yourself) projects are draining the supply of mason jars.
A shortage of smaller turkeys grips the nation as families gather in smaller groups for Thanksgiving celebrations due to the pandemic.
Consumer Brands Association’s latest survey shows fear among consumers regarding future stockouts.
Walmart’s On-Time and In-Full (OTIF) metrics are at the most strict levels in the company’s history just as the COVID exemption expires.
Direct-to-consumer is viewed as a strong growth driver in the future for CPG companies.
