Food input costs eased again this week, but the more interesting number isn’t the composite score.
Grain, the basket tracking corn, wheat, soybeans, boxed beef, and Class III milk, is now just one point above the line that would flip it from “Elevated” back to “Neutral.” Wheat did most of the work, falling another 4% as renewed Ukraine peace signals pulled speculative premium out of the market. The USDA’s September estimate cut Russian and Ukrainian export forecasts in that same report, suggesting that physical supply risk hasn’t gone away.
Boxed beef ticked up for the first time in three weeks, and Tyson now expects a beef segment operating loss between $625 million and $725 million this fiscal year, citing one of the worst cattle shortages on record.
Freight eased too, though transpacific and Asia-Europe lanes kept moving in opposite directions, a reminder that “global” freight costs rarely move as one number.
Get the full breakdown, including this week’s composite score, component data, and what to watch next, on the FIE Input Cost Index.
