The Latest: March - 2026
Fresh Infusion of Global Turmoil
The dairy markets are contending with an abundance of milk and a fresh infusion of global turmoil. That amped up the volatility on LaSalle Street. CME spot Cheddar blocks came out strong on Monday and rallied to a four-month high at $1.63 per pound. But as the week wore on, blocks’ enthusiasm waned. They settled today at $1.53, down 8.75ȼ for the week. “Export cheese demand is strong, but some contacts are concerned that rising shipping costs will negatively impact international interest.” American cheese remains the least expensive option, but with both the dollar index and cheese prices up sharply from where they stood a few weeks ago, some international buyers may no longer view it as a bargain.
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The novel coronavirus has strangled foodservice and export channels, and the industry simply has more milk than it can handle. With so much lost demand, the dairy industry must cut production. The market is laboring ruthlessly to make that happen.
View reportThe retail surge has petered out. Consumers are still standing in the grocery checkout line with more dairy in their cart but the industry cannot make up for lost foodservice demand and throttled exports.
View reportThose numbers clearly won’t pay the bills, and after four painful years (and a couple good months) dairy producers are in no shape to weather this storm.
View reportStrong fluid milk consumption will benefit the whole industry by reducing dairy product output at a time when overall demand is likely taking a sizable hit.
View reportPlunging stocks, cheap oil, and a strong dollar would normally spell disaster in the dairy markets. There was a lot of red ink on LaSalle Street but the damage was not nearly as extreme as feared.
View reportThe dairy markets sprinted out of the gate on Monday, but they couldn’t sustain such an energetic pace. The dairy markets are fixated on the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its potential impact on the economy and consumer behavior. However, there are a lot of good things to be said about dairy market fundamentals.
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