Michigan Food Equipment

Sectors Report: Midterm Leaders and Laggards

The broader indexes have been trending lower since the beginning of May and have been down for six straight weeks. According to Standard & Poor’s, sub-sectors within the S&P 500 outperforming the overall S&P 500 benchmark have been Healthcare, Energy, Consumer Staples, and Utilities. The sub-sectors lagging the overall market performance thus far in 2011 have been Financials, Information Technology and Materials. The S&P 500 published year-to-date performance figures reveal a positive 10.01 percent return for its Healthcare sub-sector, 7.19 percent in Energy, 4.68 percent in Consumer Staples, and 4.24 percent in Utilities. The three lagging subsectors -- Finance, Information Technology, and Materials -- are down by 7.25 percent, 2.54 percent, and 2.47 percent, respectively. The overall S&P 500 YTD performance returned 1.06 percent. With so many stocks and sectors trading in narrow ranges and being highly correlated to one another thus far in 2011, investors have been forced to look more closely for companies in which demand for their goods and services have clear direction. By breaking down companies into sectors and subsectors based on the products and services they sell, we've been able to uncover the driving forces behind the YTD gains and losses within each of the general categories and their subsectors. The Revere Hierarchy tool pinpointed some very specific areas of strength and weakness. sector tracks some 780 focused companies, those that derive more than 50 percent of their revenues from actual products and services related to Healthcare. In addition, we break them down further into 277 subsectors based on the specifics of what they sell. We found several subsectors that have produced YTD returns of close to four times that of the broader S&P Healthcare subsector and over 10 times greater than the S&P 500. Non-alcoholic beverages (25 focused companies) has a 16 percent YTD return. We further break down this sector into four additional subsectors, all of which have outperformed the S&P 500. They are: Bottled Water 14 percent YTD return, Bottling/Distribution 9 percent YTD return, Coffee/Tea/Cocoa 76 percent YTD return, and Juice/Soft Drink 10 percent YTD return. The major drivers have been found in Coffee/Tea/Cocoa and Bottling Distribution. Companies found here have all significantly outperformed the S&P Consumer Staples subsector by as much as 71 percent in the case of Coffee/Tea/Cocoa.

Food & Food Equipment News: USDA Identifies Infrastructure ...

Food Hubs Emerging as Viable Business Model Supporting Regional Food Systems

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today released the results of a nationwide analysis of food hubs and provided highlights of how Michigan can tap into USDA's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, which promotes local and regional food systems by stimulating community economic development and facilitating efforts to expand access to affordable fresh and local food.

Merrigan released the analysis at the Making Good Food Work conference and highlighted the economic opportunities of food hubs, an emerging business model that offers aggregation and distribution services for small and midsize producers across the country.

“We have a historic opportunity to help win the future by laying a new foundation for economic growth, creating jobs and building and revitalizing critical infrastructure here in Michigan and in rural communities across America through supporting and establishing local and regional food systems as an economic development strategy to keep wealth in local communities,” said Merrigan. “This new data clearly demonstrates that small and midsize farmers can work with a variety of players to overcome the infrastructure challenges they face, while creating effective economic opportunities for their communities at the same time.”

In partnership with the National Association of Produce Market Managers, the Wallace Center at Winrock International, and the Project for Public Spaces, the USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Subcommittee on Food Hubs has identified over 100 operational food hubs in the country and has conducted in depth analysis of over 70 operational food hubs. Preliminary survey results of this research indicate:

More than 100 food hubs are in operation around the country, with large clusters of food hubs in the Midwest and Northeast. Average food hub sales are nearly $1 million annually. On average, each food hub creates 13 jobs. The median number of small and midsize suppliers served by an individual food hub is 40. Almost all food hubs offer fresh produce and the majority offer dairy and protein products as well.

Bulletin. no. 1-273, Aug. 1895-June 1918

THE MICHIGAN FOOD & HEALTH SPECIAL TRAIN. ... dairy arrangement together with the latest equipment was especially interesting to fanners and dairymen. ...

Michigan food and agricultural products export directory

Mr. Glenn Lorch 935 E. Fulton St. Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 616/459-6014 ... condensing units and coolers; food service equipment. LAKEWOOD MFG. ...

The food safety information handbook

North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) 401 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL, 6061 1 Telephone: 312-644-6610 Fax: 800-336-0019 Email ...

Hospital management

Dr. Munger, chairman of the Committee on Foods and Food Equipment, ... Study Made at the University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor By Miss Rena S. Eckman, ...

Michigan food facts

Peaches Michigan peach trees produced 45 million pounds of fruit in 1984. ... harvesting costs have encouraged research on mechanical harvesting equipment. ...