Foodservice Packaging & Commodity Price Index
Monthly averages for the cost drivers behind foodservice distribution in the Southeast US, computed from our continuous live-API tracking of EIA diesel, USDA boxed beef, ICE sugar, and CBOT soybean oil. Updated daily; free to cite with attribution. Last generated September 1, 2026.
In September 2026, Lower Atlantic diesel averaged $5.32/gal (+2.3% vs August 2026), USDA Choice boxed beef averaged $376.38/cwt (-0.1%), raw sugar averaged 20.87¢/lb (+23.9%), and soybean oil averaged $0.727/lb (+5.7%).
| Month | Diesel $/gal | Beef Choice $/cwt | Beef Select $/cwt | Raw Sugar ¢/lb | Refined Sugar ¢/lb | Soybean Oil $/lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 5.318 | 376.38 | 358.77 | 20.87 | 37.30 | 0.7271 |
| August 2026 | 5.199 | 376.67 | 356.96 | 16.84 | 37.22 | 0.6880 |
| July 2026 | 4.794 | 373.93 | 357.60 | 14.81 | 35.90 | 0.6960 |
| June 2026 | 4.896 | 392.22 | 375.56 | 14.12 | 35.50 | 0.7249 |
Monthly simple averages of intraday snapshots. Series begins June 2026, the first full month after all upstream feeds went live; a row is added each month.
Methodology and sources
- Diesel: EIA weekly retail on-highway diesel, Lower Atlantic (PADD 1C).
- Boxed beef: USDA AMS boxed beef cutout, Choice and Select (LM_XB403).
- Sugar: ICE Sugar No. 11 (raw) and No. 16 (refined) front-month futures.
- Soybean oil: CBOT soybean oil front-month futures.
- Snapshots are captured whenever our live market dashboard refreshes (multiple times daily); monthly figures are simple averages of all snapshots in the calendar month.
Citing this index
This data is free to reuse with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Cite as: "Value Source Foodservice Packaging & Commodity Price Index, valuesource.co/packaging-price-index/". For how these inputs flow through to case prices, see our 2026 wholesale case-price benchmarks and the Section 301 tariff guide.