Improved sales and traffic and a significant increase in operator optimism pushed the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index back into positive territory in September. From May through August, the index had lagged below the 100 level that signals contraction versus expansion. The index moved above 100 in March and April for the first time…

The U.S. economy managed 2% real growth of gross domestic product in the third quarter, according to the advance estimate from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis, a division of the Commerce Department, released last Friday. While the rate of growth is higher than the paltry 1.7% rise in real GDP in the second quarter,…

While most major global foodservice markets continued to experience negative traffic trends, increased spending per visit had some markets returning to positive sales growth, according to second-quarter data from NPD Group. In several countries tracked by NPD’s CREST research, increased check average overcame fewer visits. In the U.S. market, traffic declined 1.5%, but average checks…

Jobs growth remained sluggish in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Oct. 8. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 95,000, as government employment dropped by 159,000. The private sector added 64,000 jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.6%. One of the bright spots in the report was continued growth in foodservice sector jobs.…

Strongly higher food prices at both the wholesale and consumer levels helped push both the Consumer Price and Producer Price Indexes higher in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week. After declines four of the past five months, wholesale food prices at the “finished” level jumped 1.2%. A 5.2% increase in meat prices…

After several months of declining forecasts, the economic outlook for the U.S. mostly stabilized in this month’s consensus forecasts from Blue Chip Economic Indicators. The more than 50 major economic forecasting groups the newsletter polled in early October kept the forecast at 2.7% real growth of gross domestic product in the U.S. this year and…

Foodservice Equipment Reports E&S Market Forecast package is available for purchase for $449. Purchasers will receive the entire seven-section forecast, including detailed data and analysis of economic and operator trends, exclusive commodity price forecasts from Tom Stundza of IHS Global Insight; E&S manufacturer list-price data from AutoQuotes Inc.; a ranking and analysis of the Top…

Strong gains by Rational Americas, Manitowoc Foodservice and Middleby Corp. pushed blended sales of the public equipment and supplies companies into positive territory in the second quarter, with combined revenues up 0.7%. It was the first time the companies managed growth since the third quarter 2008. The gain follows a revised 4.3% decline in the…

Technomic Inc. predicts foodservice real operator sales will fall 0.3% next year, an unprecedented fourth consecutive year of real sales declines. The Chicago-based research group unveiled the numbers Sept. 23 during the annual Forecast & Outlook Conference sponsored annually by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association. Nominal sales are forecast to rise 1.7% in 2011. Technomic…

The slightest possible gain in the National Restaurant Association’s Performance Index couldn’t mask the fact that the restaurant industry continues to struggle. The index rose only 0.1 point to 99.5. It’s the fourth consecutive month the index remained under the 100 level that signals the difference between contraction and expansion. Both capital expenditure measures were…