Article

Commodities: With Super (pizza) Bowl in sight, cheese, wheat prices ignite

With less than a month to go before that U.S. pizza holiday of holidays, the Super Bowl, cheese and wheat prices were on the rise last week.

January 7, 2019 by S.A. Whitehead — Food Editor, Net World Media Group

With less than a month to go before that U.S. pizza holiday of holidays, the Super Bowl, cheese and wheat prices were on the rise last week. Fortunately, pizza brand operators continued to save substantially on vehicle fuel prices, now down about a quarter a gallon for unleaded from last year. 

Cheese

The weekly average for barrels was up about a cent, closing and averaging $1.30, while blocks shot up almost 5 cents over the previous week, to $1.42 on average at the close. 

Holiday milk levels are adding to increasing cheese production nationally. One slight deviation from that norm is in the Central U.S., where U.S.D.A. contacts reported maintenance issues impeding production at multiple plants. 

Pizza cheese producers have been busy with orders in the Midwest, while Western mozzarella and provolone makers are hopeful for increasing demand ahead, particularly related to the culminating football season and playoffs. 

Wheat

Compared to last week, cash bids for wheat were mostly higher. Export sales and shipments were not reported due to the government shutdown.  

Wheat was 2 cents lower to 38 cents higher overall. Kansas City U.S. No. 1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein rail bid was 8 1/2 cents higher, from $6.13 1/2-$6.28 1/2 per bushel. Kansas City U.S. No. 2 Soft Red winter rail bid was not quoted.  

St. Louis truck U.S. No. 2 Soft Red Winter terminal bid was 1 to 6 cents higher, from $5.43-$5.48 per bushel.  Minneapolis and Duluth U.S. No. 1 Dark Northern Spring, 14.0 to 14.5 percent protein rail, was 2 cents lower to 38 cents higher, from $6.60 1/4-$6.65 1/4 per bushel.  Portland U.S. Soft White wheat rail was steady to 5 cents higher, from $6.15-$6.35 per bushel.

Vehicle fuel

Cheap gas continues to leave delivery drivers and fleet pizza brands grinning ear to ear. The average price for a gallon of regular this morning, according to AAA, was $2.24, down 3 cents from last week and 20 cents from last month. In fact, last year at this time, that same gallon went for $2.49, meaning pizza operators are saving a quarter every gallon their drivers clock this year over last. 

That savings trend continued across mid-grade ($2.57) and premium ($2.83), but diesel —though lower in price than last month — is still running about 6 cents higher than what we paid last year. Those running vehicles with E85,  however, are saving over last year and month, though only about half the savings over last year that regular gasoline drivers have been reaping. 

Pizza company stocks

In the spirit of the notion that "everything goes around, come around," the investor "love" shown two weeks ago for Domino's and Pizza Hut, transferred last week instead to Papa John's and Papa Murphy's. 

For world pizza volume leader, Domino's, traders pulled back last week to end trading Friday at $243.60, off $6.35 from the previous week's close. Then for Pizza Hut parent, Yum Brands, traders cut back their affection to the tune of about 15 cents last week over the previous week, ending Friday at $91.46. 

But in the good karma category last week, Papa John's value rose $1.31 on the week to close Friday at $41.74, while its smaller bake-at-home counterpart, Papa Murphy's also gained on the week, rising from $4.80 a week earlier to $5.05 this past Friday. 

Photo: iStock

About S.A. Whitehead

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Pizza Marketplace and QSRweb editor Shelly Whitehead is a former newspaper and TV reporter with an affinity for telling stories about the people and innovative thinking behind great brands.