Food Industry Executive

The headline food inflation rate has slowed, but that's not what manufacturers are paying. This week's Brief covers the upstream signals to watch, a divide in how big food is allocating capital, and the regulatory development five major CPGs just disclosed to investors.

Food manufacturing capacity utilization fell to its lowest level since 2021 in August, though production itself held up fine. The empty space came from somewhere else, and the reason most plants gave for running below capability isn't the one the industry has spent five years talking about.

Sponsored by QAD The traditional supply chain model you've been using your whole career might be why you can't see the risks.  "Stop Calling It a...

Every platform looks identical in a demo. You don't see its shortcomings till 11 PM when the internet drops mid-run, or when the renewal invoice drops with three new line items. This article lays out the questions to ask before you sign anything.

The FIE Input Cost Index fell for the third straight week. But it's still sitting in High Pressure territory, where it's been since we...

Major food leaders are restructuring as Coca-Cola invests $10B in US manufacturing. GLP-1 adoption reached 11% of US adults, lowering grocery spending and risking $73B in food brand value. Meanwhile, despite a 1.3% headline food inflation rate, input costs like diesel (up 77.8%) and grains (up 17.7%) are surging alongside growing El Niño risks.

Food manufacturing averaged 4.0 hours of weekly overtime per production worker in 2025, above the manufacturing average and rising. That premium costs roughly $2,570 per worker a year, and absence is one of three causes within that number. BLS data puts three-quarters of manufacturing absence down to illness and injury.