• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Winner Winner, Pork Dinner? Applebee’s Triumphs in Trump's Trade War

Winner Winner, Pork Dinner? Applebee’s Triumphs in Trump's Trade War

Winner Winner, Pork Dinner? Applebee’s Triumphs in Trump's Trade War
December 14, 2018
Bloomberg

President Donald Trump’s tough stance on trade has led U.S. farmers to lose a lot of overseas business but at home it may turn into a win for diners ordering Applebee’s baby-back ribs.

The casual-dining chain owned by Dine Brands Global Inc. is benefiting from the unintended consequences of Trump’s trade spats. He put tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Trading partners retaliated with levies on U.S. agriculture products, which has lowered demand in some cases, but, moreover, has helped reduce pork prices.

“Food costs are probably going down next year,” Dine Brands Chief Executive Officer Steve Joyce said this month. “We’re a big user of protein. As long as those tariffs stay in place and the inventories continue to build, it helps with cost.”

China and Mexico implemented tariffs on pork at a time when U.S. production was climbing to a record. The Asian country also has shunned purchases of U.S. soybeans, a key feed ingredient for hogs and chickens, for several months.

Meat supplies have been rising in the U.S. partly due to abundant, cheap feed and have led prices for pork and chicken to decline over the past few years. Add on the export disruptions caused by trade tensions and that could mean lower prices for chicken tenders, ribs and steak for Applebee’s and other buyers.

In 2019, beef and chicken production in the U.S. may increase 3 percent while pork may rise 5 percent, according to Don Close, senior vice president for animal protein in St. Louis for agricultural lender Rabobank. Cheap feed encourages more meat production and the increased supply of meat and poultry “will put a cap on prices,” he said.

The tariffs on pork by Mexico, the largest importer of U.S. supplies, also have helped curb prices rather than the volumes sold domestically or internationally. U.S. red meat and poultry exports are expected to continue rising next year, but so will production and inventories, the Department of Agriculture said in a report Tuesday.

Meanwhile, millions of bushels of unsold soybeans, which have become a poster child for the U.S.-China trade war, are piling up. The potential easing of tension between the two countries has lifted soybean prices recently but no actual sales have been reported yet

“Restaurants are clearly feeling the competition,” Close said in an interview. Given lower costs, “they are using this opportunity to be as competitive as possible.”

Consumers also may see “some incredible values” at the meat counters and coolers in grocery stores, he said.

Olive Garden has recently advertised $8.99 early dinner specials and has said that its food and drink costs will be up only as much as 1 percent in this fiscal year. The dinner deals include chicken parmigiana and spaghetti with meat sauce. Fast-food chains also are touting steep meat discounts, such as a new $6 meal at McDonald’s that include a burger, fish sandwich or chicken McNuggets with a drink, fries and pie.

At Applebee’s, the lower protein costs may mean higher margin on promotions such as two-for-$20 entrees. The company also is planning another all-you-can-eat riblet deal in 2019, following a successful run this year. The chain has a new two-meat dinner combo for $12.99, as well.

Jeff Bernstein, a restaurant analyst at Barclays Capital, says that while he was forecasting food-cost inflation for next year, that’s no longer the case.

“That has not panned out,” Bernstein said. “There’s a chance going into 2019 that our restaurants will still see benign or favorable commodity costs again,” he said, citing Dine Brands and Tyson Food Inc.’s recent comments on an oversupplied U.S. meat market.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Inventory Planning/ Optimization SC Finance & Revenue Management Global Trade & Economics Food & Beverage North America
KEYWORDS Food and Beverage Global Trade & Economics Inventory Planning/ Optimization North America SC Finance & Revenue Management
  • Related Articles

    An Unexpected Winner From Trump's Trade War: Knockoff Bags From China

    The Big Winner from Trump's Solar Tariffs Didn't Even Ask for Them

    In Soybean Country, Trump's Trade War With China Tests Patience and Nerves

Bloomberg

As Retail Sales Improved, Inventories Rose Less in February Than Expected

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Amazon Offers Help With Distribution; NYC Delays Vaccinations After Moderna Shortage

    Coronavirus
  • container port

    New Global Visibility App Sees Delays Before They Happen

    Logistics
  • Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Watch: Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Coronavirus
  • U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

    WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers As China Fills Vaccine Void

    Coronavirus
  • Smartphones

    Podcast | Why We Need to Ramp Up Recycling of Old Tech

    Logistics

Digital Edition

Scb home issue 27

2020 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

  • LSP Wows Global Client, Quickly Advances to Become End-to-End Provider

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact GEP Honeywell Intelligrated
Infor Logility Magnitude Software
MPO Old Dominion Oliver Wight
OpenSky Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
TGW Systems Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam Yang Ming
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing