Dairy Products Manufacturing Industry Profile

Companies in this industry manufacture dairy-based products from raw and processed milk, along with dairy substitutes. Major companies include Dean Foods, Dairy Farmers of America, and Land O'Lakes (all based in the US), as well as Groupe Danone and Groupe Lactalis (France); Fonterra Co-operative Group (New Zealand); Nestlé SA (Switzerland); and Unilever (the Netherlands).

Worldwide revenue from dairy products manufacturing totals about $440 billion. North America and Europe are the largest markets. The Asia/Pacific region and Latin America are the fastest-growing markets for the industry, due to expanding populations and rising incomes.

The US dairy products manufacturing industry consists of about 1,100 companies that have combined annual revenue of about $96 billion. The industry is expected to grow at a low rate over the next two years. Key growth challenges include flat milk demand and increasing competition.

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 concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for about 75 percent of revenue.

Imports and exports are mainly cheeses. Imports make up about 2 percent of the US market. Major sources are ...