May 2024 US Dairy Supply & Utilization Report Analysis

Cheese

• Total cheese consumption was up for the third consecutive month. While exports have been up every month in 2024, domestic demand is the bigger prize, and every month stateside utilization has been up year-over-year, totals have increased.
• American cheese demand was weaker, though, versus May 2023. While exports were strong in this category, domestic usage dropped, too. Year-to-date, disappearance in the US has fallen year-on-year every month.
• The hero of the cheese category, “Other than American”, shined brightly. Total disappearance of 722 million pounds was the highest ever for the month. Exports have been up double-digits YoY from January to May 2024, which has helped push the totals higher.

Butter

• Butter utilization jumped 16.7% compared to the prior year, with 2024 marking the highest May volume on record, with data from 2011. May’s big totals pushed the YTD disappearance number from -1.4% through April to +2% versus Jan to May 2023.
• Strong domestic consumption, which also marked the highest May volume on record, was the primary cause of greater total use. Likely, robust retail demand had more product flowing to supermarkets and less CME eligible butter coming to the exchange, resulting in the historically high prices for this time of year.
• After a lift in April, exports sank again below the prior year, dragging year-to-date volume down 19.6% versus 2023. At 4.8 million pounds, this was the lowest May volume since 2020.

NDM & SMP

• Nonfat dry milk (NDM) utilization jumped from the prior month to record the highest usage of 2024 so far. However, this is still the lowest... To continue reading, click here to request a free trial and read HighGround Dairy's complete analysis.

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