Milling & Baking News - January 6, 2015 - 34

Ingredient Week

Bakery Flour
Bookings of bakery flour were limited
during New Year's week. Prices declined.
Most bakers were comfortable with
their first-quarter 2015 coverage before
they left offices for the holidays. Certainly that was the case for most major
baking companies. But the week did see
a number of small and mid-size bakers
taking advantage of recent weakness in
cash wheat premiums to pull together
some contracts for February-March.
Declining wheat futures prices were
welcomed by bakers, but not many were
in offices to act on them. At the same
time, there was confidence prices may
continue to weaken, which would provide more attractive pricing opportunities in the first weeks of 2015.
Millers estimated bakers' commitments to flour contracts for JanuaryMarch - reflecting both completed contracts and component coverage that
marked a commitment to conclude
bookings in the near future - reached
about 80% of the prospective business
for the quarter. Specialty bread bakers
and other users of spring flour grades
held the most extensive coverage commitments, which were estimated at
about 85% of the potential volume. Pan
bread flour coverage commitments for
January-March was estimated at about
70%, and cookie-cracker and specialty
bakers were said to have committed to
contracts reflecting about 75% of their
soft flour needs through March.
Mill grind was reduced because of

Bakery ﬂour
Jan. 2

34 / January 6, 2015

Family Flour
Sales of national and regional brands
of family flour were light. Carlot list
prices were unchanged.
With the fall baking season concluded,
shipments dropped sharply. It was expected grocers and other buyers of family flour will work to reduce inventory
left over at the end of the year before
placing new orders, which may make for
a quiet January for manufacturers. Demand was expected to revert to routine
volumes until the approach of Easter,
the next occasion that typically sees an
increase in home baking.
Quiet ruled in the market for private
label flour. Before the holidays, most
buyers covered most if not all of their
flour requirements through April, which
will carry them through Easter demand.
During the baking season, family
flour was often offered at two 5-lb bags
for $5 with scattered offers as aggressive
as two bags for $4. MBN

Semolina
Bookings of semolina, granulars and
durum flour were light last week. Prices
declined to the lowest levels since September 2014.
The price of choice milling hard amber
durum as quoted for the Chicago gateway was $16.30 a bu, down 20c from the

previous week. The Minneapolis price
was $16 a bu.
Pasta manufacturers were comfortable with first-quarter 2015 coverage,
which for many buyers was approaching 100%. April-June coverage remained
limited.
Durum mills scheduled downtime of
two to four days during both Christmas
and New Year's weeks but will resume
full operations in the first full week of
2015, which for some units will mean a
grind of six or even seven days.
One miller observed rail service seemed
to deteriorate recently, particularly in the
case of moving semolina cars. Most durum mills had adequate durum inventories built during the fall, when rail service
was much improved compared with a
year earlier. A shift to frigid weather across
the nation's midsection sent jitters through
the market, which remembered well the
abysmal state of rail transportation during
the brutal winter of 2013-14.
The 2014 Canadian and U.S. durum
crops were subpar in quality. Stocks of
the 2013 crops were being drawn down
quickly, leaving millers with the challenge of sourcing the best quality possible to ensure they're able to meet pasta
manufacturers' specifications through
the remainder of 2014-15. MBN

Bakers standard, Kansas City
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$23.00
$21.00
$19.00

No. 1 hard amber durum

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
Kansas City
Bakers short patent
Bakers standard patent
Second clear
Third clear
Minneapolis
Spring short patent
Spring standard patent
High gluten
Whole wheat
Specialty whole wheat
Fancy spring clear
First spring clear
Rye, white
Chicago
Cracker
Fancy cake
New York
Winter/spring blend
Spring standard patent
High gluten
Fancy cake
Rye, white
Los Angeles
Bakers standard patent
Pastry

New Year's observances. Grind was expected to increase in the first weeks of
January but remain below fourth-quarter 2014 levels. MBN

Track, Chicago
- Change from - Year $ per bu
Jan. 2
Dec. 26 Dec. 19 ago Choice milling 13% 16.30

16.00
15.90
14.00
...

-0.95
-0.95
-
...

-1.35
-1.35
-
...

18.10 Track, Minneapolis
18.00 $ per bu
14.00 Choice milling 13% 16.00
...

16.35
16.25
19.25
16.25
16.60
16.10
16.00
22.80

-1.50
-1.50
-1.50
-1.50
-1.50
-1.50
-1.50
0.30

-2.20
-2.20
-2.20
-2.20
-2.20
-2.20
-2.20
0.60

19.55
19.45
22.45
19.45
19.80
19.30
19.20
22.50

14.75
16.25

-1.10
-1.10

-1.75
-1.75

15.30
16.80

18.40
18.25
21.25
18.25
25.30

-0.95
-1.35
-1.35
-1.10
0.30

-1.35
-2.35
-2.35
-1.75
0.60

20.50
21.75
24.75
18.80
25.00

20.90
20.95

-0.95
-0.95

-1.35
-1.35

23.60
23.45

Milling & Baking News

- Change from - Year
Dec. 26 Dec. 19 ago
-.20
-.60
9.80

$17.00
$15.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

Spring standard, Minneapolis
-.20

-.60

9.50

Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$27.00

Semolina

$25.00

Bulk, f.o.b. Minneapolis, $ per cwt
- Change from -
Jan. 2
Dec. 26 Dec. 19
Semolina
39.95
-.30
-1.10
Granulars
39.75
-.30
-1.10
Flour
39.65
-.30
-1.10
First clear
...
...
Second clear
...
...
Semolina - N.Y. 42.75
-.30
-1.10

$23.00

Year
ago
23.00
22.80
22.70
17.55
13.50
25.70

Nationally advertised family ﬂour

$21.00
$19.00
$17.00
$15.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

Cracker ﬂour, Chicago
Bulk, f.o.b. car, $ per cwt
$21.00

Dollars
Jan. 2
Family patent, 2-25s papers 24.12
4-10s
n.a.
8-5s
18.52
18-2s
20.64
Self-rising
n.a.

$19.00

Year ago
24.12
n.a.
18.52
20.64
n.a.

$17.00
$15.00
$13.00
$11.00
$9.00
J

J
Previous Year

O
Current Year

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - January 6, 2015

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