MD_DA840                                                         
DA                                                               
MD DA840 Cheese - West                                           

MADISON, WI.  January 27, 2016 (REPORT 4)                        

WEST CHEESE                                                      

Western cheese production is steady. Manufacturers say there is enough milk to meet their 
processing needs, but additional loads of milk are not as readily available as they were 
over the winter holidays. Cheese stocks have grown, albeit slower than in some other 
regions. Inventories of barrels continue to be heavy and blocks are long. Industry 
contacts say cheese with some age is definitely long and harder to place. However, a few 
manufacturers report a little tightness for fresh cheese supplies. Domestic retail cheese 
demand is steady to slightly lower. The DMN National Retail Report-Dairy for the week of 
January 22-28 shows the U.S. weighted average advertised retail price for an 8 ounce pack 
of natural shredded cheese is $2.39, down $.12 from last week, and down $.17 from a year 
ago. Packs averaged $1.90 in the Southwest and $2.24 in the Northwest. For 8 ounce 
blocks, the U.S. price is $2.33, down $.02 from last week, and down $.17 from a year ago. 
Blocks averaged $2.03 in the Southwest and $2.44 in the Northwest this week. In the West, 
wholesale prices are down $.0475 for process, and down $.0100 for cheddar block, cuts, 
and Monterey jack. Prices are unchanged for Swiss cuts. This week, a cooperative export 
assistance program accepted requests for 921,532 pounds of cheese. According to the NASS 
Cold Storage report, U.S. stocks of cheese (total natural) at the end of December 2015 
were 1.145 billion pounds, unchanged from November 2015, but up 13% from December 2014. 
American stocks were 12% more, other natural stocks were 14% more, and Swiss stocks were 
16% more than last year. In the Mountain Region, American cheese stocks were 12% more 
than one year earlier, but 4% less than one month earlier. Pacific Region American cheese 
stocks were 2% more than one year earlier and 1% more than the previous month. Also in 
the Pacific Region, other natural cheese stocks were 25% above a year ago and 1% above a 
month ago. In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.4300, down $.0650 from a 
week ago and blocks closed at $1.4600, down $.0200. 

WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES:  DELIVERED, DOLLARS PER POUND          
(1000 - 5000 POUNDS MIXED LOTS)                                  
                                                                 
Process 5# Loaf                              : 1.5900-1.8475     
Cheddar 40# Block                            : 1.5875-2.0325     
Cheddar 10# Cuts                             : 1.7675-1.9875     
Monterey Jack 10#                            : 1.7775-1.9375     
Grade A Swiss Cuts 6 - 9#                    : 2.7475-3.1775     


1530CT Mike.Bandli@ams.usda.gov 608.557.7010
USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin 
Dairy Market News website: http://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
Dairy Market News database portal: http://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/da-home