Originally predicted to experience a 1.6 percent decline, the U.S. foodservice industry is doing better than expected and is now projected to see nominal growth of 0.6 percent this year.
Chicago foodservice consulting and market research firm Technomic on Monday released its revised 2010 forecast, confirming that the U.S. restaurant industry has already hit bottom and is beginning to rebound.
Last year, sales at limited-service restaurants slipped 0.5 percent, while sales at full-service restaurants dropped 6 percent; bars and taverns experienced no growth. So far in 2010, sales at limited-service and full-service restaurants have increased 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, while bars and taverns have jumped 1.5 percent.
Technomic said that while there are signs of improvement, recovery will be slow.
“The most significant changes are in the ‘commercial’ sectors, with full-service restaurants, hotels and recreation, in particular showing the better-than-expected improvements,” said Technomic VP Jow Pawlak. “The limited-service restaurant segment is also up slightly over earlier estimates.”
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