Decline in US flour production continued this quarter

According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), released on December 10, flour production at U.S. mills in the third quarter of this year totaled 4.819 million tons. This is 53,400 tons (or 1.1%) lower than the 4.872 million tons produced in July-September 2024. The USDA originally planned to release its third-quarter data on November 3, but it was delayed due to the government shutdown. At 4.819 million tons, production increased by 150,500 tons (or 3.2%) compared to the second quarter of this year. However, this is the lowest third-quarter output in the past four years, since 2021, when 4.815 million tons were produced. Cumulative flour production since the beginning of 2025 (over three quarters) amounted to 14.266 million tonnes, a decrease of 151,000 tonnes (1%) compared to 14.417 million tonnes for January-September 2024. Daily milling capacity in the third quarter amounted to 72,695 tonnes, 99.5 tonnes per day higher than in the third quarter of 2024 ...