Milling & Baking News - May 27, 2014 - 24

Data 

Quarterly flour total climbs to
new peak; milling capacity surge

ingredients
custom blends
innovation
national distribution

B.C. Williams Bakery Service
BCW Food Products
1-800-527-4104

bcwilliams.com

WASHINGTON - Flour output by
U.S. mills in January-March increased
0.9% over a year ago to establish a new
quarterly record and further extending the annual high in 2013, according
to data interpolated by Milling & Baking News based on statistics released
by the North American Millers' Association (NAMA).
Production was calculated from
NAMA's estimate of flour output for
January-March at 98,737,000 cwts,
compared with 97,888,000 in the first
three months of 2013. NAMA retains
Veris Consulting to survey the 24 largest U.S. wheat, durum and rye milling companies listed in the Grain &
Milling Annual 2013. Milling & Baking
News seeks to make the data comparable with past Census data.
Milling & Baking News divided the
NAMA numbers by .951 (reflecting the
95.1% of daily capacity represented by
the mills surveyed). The resulting output is a quarterly record of 103,824,000
cwts in January-March 2014, up 0.9%
from 102,932,000 in the first quarter
of 2013. At the same time, production
was up only 0.4% from 103,462,000 in
the first quarter of 2012, the prior peak
for the first quarter.
Output in the first quarter of the
current year was down 5.9% from
110,332,000 cwts in the fourth quarter
of 2013, which was the record output
for any quarter.
Indicative of the ongoing record
surge in flour output, production in
the 12 months of April 2013-March
2014 aggregated 425,443,000 cwts,
topping the official 2013 high of
424,550,000.
NAMA placed the 24-hour capacity
of the reporting mills in the quarter at
1,482,945 cwts, which when divided
by .951 generated 1,559,000 as the interpolation of industry daily capacity. That estimated total was up 6,000
from the fourth quarter and a quite
significant 27,000 from the year earlier.

90%
85%
80%
75%

24 / May 27, 2014 Milling & Baking News

It is the largest daily capacity since
April-September 2001, when it was
1,602,000. The latter was the all-time
record.
In line with the extraordinary increase in U.S. first-quarter capacity
over a year ago, the NAMA panel

Quarterly U.S. wheat
flour production
(million cwts)
115
110
105
100
95
90

2009

2011

2013

shows the current aggregate at
1,482,945 cwts, against 1,457,195 a
year ago, up 25,750, or 1.8%. Maryland and Virginia gained 5,500, or
12.4%; Michigan, 5,200, or 18.2%; Oregon, Utah and Washington, 5,000,
or 7.6%; Missouri, 4,785, or 5.8%;
Florida, Georgia and South Carolina,
2,000, or 3.2%; North Dakota, 1,700,
or 2.1%; California, 1,400, or 1.3%;
Texas, 1,305, or 1.9%; Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, 500, or 0.3%. The
decreases were: Iowa and Nebraska,
of 1,520, or 3.3% and New Jersey and
New York, 200, or 0.2%.
Mills in the first quarter of 2014 operated at 87.6% of six-day capacity,
down from 92.3% in the fourth quarter
and 88.4% a year ago. Grind in the first
quarter of 2012 averaged 88.2%.
Operating rate estimates are based
on 76 days in the first quarter, down
from 77 in the fourth and
unchanged from a year
First-quarter operating rate
back.
NAMA data show the
rank of the top five state
and state-groupings as unchanged from a year back.
Colorado, Oklahoma and
Kansas again led state and
state-grouping in first'00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14
quarter output, producing 10,105,000 cwts, up
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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

Milling & Baking News - May 27, 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - May 27, 2014