Food Processing Magazine Ranks the Top 100(C) Food Manufacturers in the U.S. and Canada
ITASCA, Ill. (PRWEB) November 13, 2006 -- Tyson Foods once again narrowly beats out Kraft Foods as the largest food processor in the U.S. and Canada, according to the August issue of Food Processing magazine.
The magazine's annual Top 100© list, published in the August issue and available on the web site (www.foodprocessing.com), ranks the largest food and beverage manufacturers according to 2005 sales, qualified by a number of criteria.* The annual report this year is titled "Another difficult year."
Tyson (this year at $23.9 billion) unseated Kraft ($23.3 billion) for the first time in the 2005 ranking. Rounding out the top five are PepsiCo ($21.2 billion), Nestle U.S. & Canada ($19.9 billion) and Anheuser-Busch ($11.5 billion). ConAgra Foods, which has been divesting operations, was No. 5 in the 2005 ranking but dropped four spots this year.
"The previous year was painfully impacted by rising costs for energy, raw materials and employee benefits. And don't forget a couple of Gulf Coast hurricanes. But at least interest rates were low," says Dave Fusaro, editor in chief. "So far, 2006 has most of the same bad news, with rising interest rates replacing the hurricanes."
The report notes, "Anybody selling beef or poultry was hurting because of the worldwide worry of disease. Against this challenging backdrop, it was difficult for food companies to turn in stellar financial performances in 2005. Among our top 10 companies, seven reported sales (as we count them) increases, but eight reported net income decreases.
"On the other hand, a couple of companies climbed the ladder …. General Mills, last year's No. 11, landed at No. 7 with a nearly $300 million increase in sales. Campbell Soup grew by more than $400 million. When we add up the sales of all 100 companies ($305.5 billion), they collectively experienced a 3 percent increase in sales 2005 over 2004.
"However, in an ominous sign, six firms reported net losses this year, compared with four last year," Food Processing concluded.
The table includes 2005 and 2004 sales and income figures. The report on the web site also features a story on mergers and acquisitions in the food industry and profiles of all 100 companies, including the brands they own. See it at www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2006/152.html.
How we get our figures:
Our table shows the 100 largest value-added food and beverage processors in the U.S. and Canada -- the top producers (not necessarily marketers) of grocery store-ready packaged food products, as well as those products sold in semi-final (merely uncooked) form into the foodservice channel. That means not counting the simple collection or transportation of agricultural commodities, nor products manufactured in plants outside of the U.S. and Canada. We use the most recent fiscal years available. In all cases that was at least calendar 2005. Estimates are made for privately held companies.
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