# 2026 State of the Dairy Industry: Cheese stays strong

> Circana data show US natural cheese retail dollar sales were $20.7 billion for the 52 weeks ending September 6, down 1.6% year over year, while unit sales grew 1.3%. The top shredded and slices subcategories saw declines, while chunks and string/stick grew.

- Date: 2026-11-13 · published 2026-11-13T18:16:06.606Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/98175-2026-state-of-the-dairy-industry-cheese-stays-strong
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Retail cheese demand is a lagging indicator for dairy processing and milk use; softer dollar sales with rising volumes suggest steady underlying consumption but pressure on prices, with limited direct effect on feed commodities.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2023-07-03 | [The Dairy Industry: Review of 2022 and a Look Ahead](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35067-the-dairy-industry-review-of-2022-and-a-look-ahead.md) | -1.8% | -2.6% |
| MILK | 2026-09-03 | [USDA Dairy Products Report July 2026: Cheese, Butter, and Dry Milk Trends - News and Statistics - IndexBox](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17489-usda-dairy-products-report-july-2026-cheese-butter-and-dry-milk-trends-news-and.md) | -0.8% | -7.3% |
| MILK | 2025-07-12 | [Cheese production continues to grow - Dairy Star](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23757-cheese-production-continues-to-grow-dairy-star.md) | +0.5% | -0.0% |
| MILK | 2025-04-27 | [The KDM Dairy Report 4/27/2025 \| KDM Trading Inc](https://feedsoft.ai/events/11901-the-kdm-dairy-report-4-27-2025-kdm-trading-inc.md) | +6.0% | +6.5% |
| MILK | 2023-08-12 | [Cheese helps support Class III futures - Dairy Star](https://feedsoft.ai/events/34740-cheese-helps-support-class-iii-futures-dairy-star.md) | -0.3% | +6.2% |

## Sources

- dairyfoods.com: https://www.dairyfoods.com/articles/99504-2026-state-of-the-dairy-industry-cheese-stays-strong

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.