Dairy Products Manufacturing Industry Profile

The US dairy products manufacturing industry consists of about 1,100 companies that have combined annual revenue of about $83 billion. Major companies include Dean Foods, cooperatives such as Dairy Farmers of America and Land O'Lakes, and the US operations of France-based Danone. The industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 75 percent of revenue.

Worldwide revenue of dairy products manufacturing totals about $440 billion. North America and Europe are the largest dairy markets. Major dairy manufacturers outside the US include Groupe Lactalis and Group Danone (headquartered in France); Nestlé SA (Switzerland); Fonterra Co-operative Group (New Zealand); and Unilever (The Netherlands).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Changes in consumer income drive demand for various types of dairy foods. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and marketing, as milk is a commodity product. There are few economies of scale in the manufacturing process, which is why small companies can effectively compete with large ones in local markets. However, economies of distribution favor large manufacturers. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $760,000.

Imports and exports are mainly cheeses. Imports make up about 2 percent of the US market. Major sources are New Zealand, Italy, Canada, France, and Ireland. Exports, which primarily go to Mexico, Canada, China, Japan, and the Philippines, account for about 3 percent of US production.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major product segments include fluid milk and milk products (about 35 ...