AR Newsletter Archives - The Ashton Report

2026

February

The Ashton Report 2/6/2026: The Ashton Report 02-06-26: What Baird And MAFSI Reps Tell Us, A Spate Of M&A And More…

January

The Ashton Report 1/8/2026: 2026 Trends, Freight & Metals Price Trends, Rep Deals And More…

The Ashton Report 1/15/2026: M&A In 2025, Menu Prices Surge, Weak Jobs Growth And More…

The Ashton Report 1/23/2026: Finally, Some Data On E&S Prices, Wholesale Food Prices And More…

2025

2024

December

The Ashton Report 12/19/24: Food Prices & Wages Still A Problem, Doing Good And Happy Holidays!…

The Ashton Report 12/12/24: We Revise Our Market Forecast, New MAFSI Barometer And More…

The Ashton Report 12/3/24: Politics Affect Confidence Measures, Three New CEOs And More…

November

The Ashton Report 11/26/24: Updates On E&S & Metals Prices, Port Strikes And More…

The Ashton Report 11/19/24: Restaurant Sales & Inflation Trends, Ron Paul’s Impact & More…

The Ashton Report 11/14/24: New Insights From Technomic & Black Box, Election Impacts & More…

The Ashton Report 11/7/24: What I Learned At the Foodservice Golf Invitational And More…

October

The Ashton Report 10/24/24: Baird 3Q-24 Charts “Slow” Market; E&S Prices Edge Lower And More...

The Ashton Report 10/17/24: Expanded Training Need, Dei Dolori Returns To Middleby, Inflation Measures And More …

The Ashton Report 10/10/24: New TriMark CEO, Strong Jobs Reports And More…

The Ashton Report 10/3/24: Kudos To Brian Ward & Greg Richards, E&S Demand Falls, Restaurant Sales Rise & More…

September

The Ashton Report 9/26/24: Latest E&S And Metals Prices, Ace Mart Acquisition And More…

The Ashton Report 9/19/24: Highlights From Our Forecast, Jobs, Prices, Sales And More…

The Ashton Report 9/6/24: Insights From Our Sept. 10 Forecast, Technomic, Rest. Canada And More…

August

The Ashton Report 8/29/24: Metals Price Trends, Jobs Growth Revision? Come To Our Forecast & More…

The Ashton Report 8/22/24: E&S Prices, Menu Prices, Restaurant Sales Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 8/15/24: Public E&S Cos., Food Costs, Herb Aydelott And More…

The Ashton Report 8/8/24: NRA RPI Insight On E&S Demand, “Spooky” Jobs Report And More…

The Ashton Report 8/1/24: Latest Metals & Freight Prices, CFS Brands’ Deal, And More…

July

The Ashton Report 7/25/24: What New Baird Survey & Cliffy Index Tell Us About Market And More…

The Ashton Report 7/18/24: E&S, Food & Menu Price Trends, Tech24 Acquisition & More…

The Ashton Report 7/11/24: E&S Demand Picking Up? Steelite Acquisition And More…

The Ashton Report 7/2/24: A Mid-Year Market Assessment, MAFSI Barometer And More…

June

The Ashton Report 6/27/24: New Canada Forecast, Metals & Freight Updates And More…

The Ashton Report 6/20/24: Technomic Cuts Operator Forecast, E&S Price Trends & More…

The Ashton Report 6/7/24: Cool Products From NRA, Not So Good Numbers And More…

May

The Ashton Report 5/30/24: Metals & Ocean Freight Prices Spike, Anxious Consumers And More…

The Ashton Report 5/23/24: Good & Bad News On Inflation, NRA Briefs And More…

The Ashton Report 5/16/24: Public E&S Companies’ 1Q-24 Results, Remembering Tom Cassin And More…

The Ashton Report 5/9/24: E&S Market Outlook, Jobs And Wage Growth And More..

April

The Ashton Report 4/30/24: Operators’ Labor Woes, New Welbilt, Henny Penny & Cambro Execs And More…

The Ashton Report 4/23/24: Baird Survey-E&S Market Sales Fell 0.9% 1Q-24, And More…

The Ashton Report 4/18/24: Three M&A Deals, Jobs Data, New Leaders At Hatco And T&S And More…

The Ashton Report 4/4/24: MAFSI, NRA Post Weak E&S Numbers, Bridge Collapse Impacts And More…

March

The Ashton Report 3/26/24: New E&S Cap-Ex Numbers! E&S Price Trends & More…

The Ashton Report 3/14/24: How Covid Changed Foodservice, Ali N.A. Rebrands As Welbilt And More…

The Ashton Report 3/8/24: Operator Profits, 4Q-23 Public Co. Reports, Surprise Cambro Deal And More…

The Ashton Report 3/5/24: E&S Price & Operator Sales Trends, KI Award Product Trends And More…

February

The Ashton Report 2/28/24: Wholesale Food Price Trends, Hoshizaki Buys 25% Of Refrigeration Manufacturer, And More…

The Ashton Report 2/19/24: Latest On Jobs, Wages And Hiring Trends, NRA RPI Cap-Ex Indicators And More…

The Ashton Report 2/2/24: Latest Baird Market Numbers, Rep Challenges, Freight Updates & More…

January

The Ashton Report 1/19/24: Critical Equipment Regs To Watch, Falling E&S Prices, Lots Of New Execs And More…

The Ashton Report 1/15/24: Jobs Trends, Freight-Cost Freak-Out, New Presidents & More…

The Ashton Report 1/5/24: NRA Cap-Ex Measures Plunge, E&S and Metals Price Trends And More…

2023

December

The Ashton Report 12/20/23: Jobs, Prices, Restaurant Sales, Delivery Trends, Happy Holidays And More…

The Ashton Report 12/11/23: Wage Trends, RPI Falls, Economy Keeps Growing And More…

The Ashton Report 12/1/23: MAFSI Barometer, E&S Price Trends, Middleby Senior Sales Execs And More…

November

The Ashton Report 11/22/23: Public E&S Cos.’ 3Q-23 Results, Wholesale Food & Menu Price Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 11/17/23: What New Baird & Technomic Numbers Tell Us About The E&S Market And More…

The Ashton Report 11/3/23: What Up In Canada’s Foodservice Market? E&S Prices, Logistics, US GDP And More…

October

The Ashton Report 10/26/23: Wholesale Food And Menu Price Updates, Global Delivery Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 10/17/23: Three Big M&A Deals, New Don & Vulcan Leaders And More…

The Ashton Report 10/5/23: New Price & Foodservice Sales Numbers, CFS Brands Buys Foodware Group & More…

September

The Ashton Report 9/20/23: MAFSI Reps Report Slowing Growth, Labor Market Trends, And 19! Promotions And Appointments…

The Ashton Report 9/1/23: Labor Issues Progress, Two Dealer Acquisitions, Metals Price Updates And More…

August

The Ashton Report 8/17/23: Most Economic Indicator Improve, Micro Matic And Tech24 Acquisitions And More…

The Ashton Report 8/14/23: What Public E&S Cos.’s 2Q-23 Reports Show, Jobs And Wage Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 8/4/23: What the “Cliffy” Index Tells Us, NRA RPI Bounces Back, GDP Up, Inflation Down And More…

July

The Ashton Report 7/31/23: Where Are E&S Prices Going? New E&S Industry Numbers From Baird And More…

The Ashton Report 7/23/23: Ohio Fact-Finding Mission, New MAFSI Numbers And More…

The Ashton Report 7/11/23: Threats To Market Growth, Jobs, NRA’s RPI, School FS And More…

The Ashton Report 7/3/23: Tech24 & Smart Care Do Deals, May Restaurant Metrics Better Than Expected, Happy Independence Day!

June

The Ashton Report 6/21/23: Happy Summer! Price & Sales Trends, Two Acquisitions, A Wedding And More…

The Ashton Report 6/7/23: More Conflicting Data, Tech24 And Copeland Deals Close And More…

May

The Ashton Report 5/31/23: Metals & Freight Trends, Chains Sales Slow, Awards And More…

The Ashton Report 5/19/23: Good News On Rising Sales & Falling Costs, NRA Plans And More…

The Ashton Report 5/15/23: LRS Menu Prices Hit High, Jobs & Wage Trends, Kevin Vigeant And More…

The Ashton Report 5/5/23: Manufacturer Rep Leverage, RPI Cap-Ex Measures Defy March Slump, Why Is Traffic Down And More…

April

The Ashton Report 4/27/23: Metals Prices & Supply-Chain Updates, RPI Gary Dykstra and More…

The Ashton Report 4/23/23: Big Rep Merger News, E&S Price Trends, Berkeley Gas Ban Struck Down And More…

The Ashton Report 4/17/23: Where’s The Recession, Another Good Jobs Report, Consumer Food Prices Diverge And More…

The Ashton Report 4/10/23: E&S Personnel Changes Galore, New NRA RPI Data, Remote Work Update And More NAFEM Products

March

The Ashton Report 3/31/23: My View On Market Trends, E&S & Metal Prices Fall, Ghost Kitchen Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 3/23/23: Hopeful Market Signs, MAFSI 4Q Barometer, Three New Presidents, ITW FEG Realigns Dealer Sales And More…

The Ashton Report 3/9/23: What NRA’s Forecast Tells Us, New Numbers From The RPI, NPD And Black Box, More NAFEM Products And Still More…

The Ashton Report 3/2/23: Public E&S Cos. 4Q-22 Numbers, Metals Prices Wobble, NAFEM Product Trends And More…

February

The Ashton Report 2/23/23: Who Invented The Salad Bar? Inflation Moderates, Restaurant Sales Surge And More..

The Ashton Report 2/20/23: Just In From California! New NRA, NPD And Black Box Numbers And More…

The Ashton Report 2/9/23: R.W. Baird’s E&S Market Survey Results, Two Big M&A Deals We Missed, Metal Price Trends And More…

January

The Ashton Report 1/27/23: Four Industry Icons Retiring After NAFEM, E&S Price Trends For December & 2022 And More…

The Ashton Report 1/19/23: Will Inflation Keep Slowing? Inflation Squeezes Middle Most, Pre-NAFEM Appointments And More…

The Ashton Report 1/12/23: Worker Demand Still High, Operator Cost Stress Effect On E&S, More M&A Recap And More…

The Ashton Report 1/5/23: The Year In Manufacturer M&A, NRA’s RPI Softens, Krisch Named Antunes Pres. And More…

2022

December

The Ashton Report 12/21/22: Middleby Buys Marco Beverage; Mixed Signals On Restaurant Sales And More…

The Ashton Report 12/16/22: Food & Labor Cost Issues; What To Do?

The Ashton Report 12/8/22: Is Demand Strong Enough To Fuel Operator Sales & The E&S Market Next Year? And More…

The Ashton Report 12/2/22: Conflicting Signals On E&S Sales And Prices, News On Flexeserve, CFS Brands, Parts Town And More…

November

The Ashton Report 11/22/22: Mixed Signals On Inflation’s Direction, Restaurant Sales Strengthen, NRA’s Culinary “What’s Hot” And More…

The Ashton Report 11/14/22: What’s NSF Is Up To, Disappointing Jobs Report, Canadian Restaurant Challenges And More…

The Ashton Report 11/3/22: Hatco Buys FWE, Latest On E&S Market From Baird, the NRA’s RPI And More…

October

The Ashton Report 10/25/22: Unclear Economic Trends Push FS & E&S, An Unusual M&A Deal, New Wholesale Food Forecasts And More…

The Ashton Report 10/7/22: Uh-Oh! Gasoline Rising Again, Hatco Buys American Range, UK Mess Batters Foodservice And More…

September

The Ashton Report 9/22/22: Insights From The Forecast, E&S Prices & Wholesale Food Prices Flatten And More…

The Ashton Report 9/14/22: RPI Cap-Ex Markers Remain Robust, New Execs At Ali-Welbilt, Excell/Nissco & TriMark USA And More…

August

The Ashton Report 8/30/22: Final E&S Forecast Agenda, Restaurant Sales Slowing, Tech24 Buys Two And More…

The Ashton Report 8/24/22: Metals Prices Fall, E&S Prices Keep Rising, Retail Restaurant Sales Flat And More…

The Ashton Report 8/17/22: Public E&S Companies’ Results, Sticky Prices And More…

The Ashton Report 8/9/22: Ali’s Berti Talks, Parts Town Teams With Uber, Prices Fall And More…

July

The Ashton Report 7/26/22: Welbilt-Ali Get Go-Ahead, Results From 2Q-22 Baird E&S Market Survey, E&S Prices And More…

The Ashton Report 7/15/22: Wholesale Food Prices Flat As CPI Keeps Rising, FTC Consumer Right-To Repair Ruling And More…

The Ashton Report 7/7/22: Is Inflation Peaking? Smart Care Buys Another Service Agency, Midwest Dealers Combine And More…

The Ashton Report 7/5/22: School Food Bill Is Law, Middleby Buys Two, Mike Burke’s Career And More…

June

The Ashton Report 6/24/22: How Much Have E&S prices Increased, Really? MAFSI Barometer Shows Continued Market Recovery And More…

The Ashton Report 6/17/22: When Will Prices Stop Rising? News From TriMark USA, Culinary Depot, Inspire Brands And More…

The Ashton Report 6/10/22: New Technomic Forecasts, A Host Of New Presidents And More…

May

The Ashton Report 5/27/22: Things We Learned At NRA, KitchenBrains Finds An Investor, Lots Of Personnel Appointments And More…

The Ashton Report 5/19/22: When Do Rising Costs Threaten Demand? Improving Restaurant Sales, NRA Show Opens May 21 And More…

The Ashton Report 5/13/22: Why We’re So Upbeat, Public E&S Company 1Q-22 Results, Nemco Buys Meister Cook, And More…

The Ashton Report 5/5/22: Insights From FCSI In Montreal, How Did Chains Do Last Year? NRA Is Approaching and More…

April

The Ashton Report 4/21/22: 1Q-22 Beat Supplier Expectations, Baird Reports, These Prices Are Insane! A Bit Of Rep History And More…

The Ashton Report 4/18/22: Prices Rising For Everything, Supply Chains Re-kinking, So Quit Blaming Others, Happy Holidays And More…

The Ashton Report 4/8/22: Parts Town Buys Big Domestic Appliance Distributor, Restaurant Jobs Growth Slows, RPI Rises, And More…

The Ashton Report 4/1/22: Why I’m Worried About Inflation, Deals for Smart Care And Weiss, New Gaylord Boss And More…

March

The Ashton Report 3/24/22: Soaring Prices Or Availability/Lead Times? What’s Worse? New MAFSI Barometer, Feb. E&S Prices And More…

The Ashton Report 3/17/22: What Current Global Mess Means For E&S Market, Prices Keep Rising and More…

The Ashton Report 3/8/22: The Fritos Effect And Other Insights From NAFEM, Public E&S Companies Results, Welbilt Sells Ice To Pentair And More…

February

The Ashton Report 2/25/22: Finding Good News In New Presidents And An ESOP, Continuing Supply-Chain Problems And More…

The Ashton Report 2/22/22: In-Depth Analysis Of Inflation Impacts On Foodservice And E&S, Another Major Rep Merger, And More…

The Ashton Report 2/14/22: Jobs! Crude Oil! New Operator Forecasts, Lots Of New E&S Exec Appointments And More…

January

The Ashton Report 1/31/22: How Reps are Evolving, Covid Impact Updates, College and B&I Insights and More…

The Ashton Report 1/20/22: How Omicron Depresses Restaurant Sales, A Spate Of Acquisitions & More…

The Ashton Report 1/13/22: Steelite’s John Miles Talks Hollowick And Market, Covid Labor Impacts, Gas And Oil Prices And More…

The Ashton Report 1/6/22: What 3Q-21 MAFSI Barometer Tells Us, Manufacturer M&A Recap, Canada’s Nella Expands And More…

2021

December

The Ashton Report 12/23/21: Ali To Buy Montague, Restaurant Sales Improved In Nov., Things You Should See And More…

The Ashton Report 12/20/21: What’s Behind E&S Price Increases? Changes At TriMark, New Faces At Boelter And Middleby And More…

The Ashton Report 12/7/21: Free Money For Doing Good, More Interesting Parts & Service Deals, Ron Kochman, Jack Kramer and More…

November

The Ashton Report 11/24/21: Covid Surges Yet Again, Summer Jobs Growth Undercount, And Things You May Have Missed…

The Ashton Report 11/19/21: Why Are Family Businesses So Important In E&S? Worrisome Restaurant Sales Trend And More…

The Ashton Report 11/16/21: When Will the Price Increases Slow? Latest E&S M&A And Personnel News & More…

The Ashton Report 11/5/21: Can We Use Hydrogen? Supply-Chain Updates, What Do 3Q Reports Tell Us & More…

October

The Ashton Report 10/29/21: Boo! Truck-Driver Shortages, Rising Gas Prices And Supply-Chain Snarls Stall Restaurant Sales…

The Ashton Report 10/18/21: s Parts & Service Consolidation Good For Foodservice? Electrolux To Buy Unified Brands, Tech-24 Buys Yukon and More…

The Ashton Report 10/8/21: Golf, Parts & Service And E&S Market Things I Learned On The Road, Macroeconomic Warning Signs And More…

September

The Ashton Report 9/27/21: Voices From FEDA, Middleby Buys Imperial, Why Overtime Is Counterproductive And More…

The Ashton Report 9/20/21: Insights From Our Annual E&S Market Forecast, More What’s Up On Prices And Logistics And More…

The Ashton Report 9/10/21: MAFSI Barometer Rises, Covid Bites Again And Sign Up For The Forecast!

The Ashton Report 9/2/21: Public E&S Company 2Q-21 Results, New US & Canadian Forecasts, Food Increases Slow & More…

August

The Ashton Report Special Issue 8/26/21: Register For E&S Market Forecast. Now!

The Ashton Report Special Issue 8/6/21: The NAFEM Show & FCSI Symposium Canceled, FEDA Conference Still On

July

The Ashton Report 7/20/21: Ali To Buy Welbilt, Blendtec Sold, Will Inflation Undermine E&S Sales?

The Ashton Report 7/12/21: &S Market’s Labor Challenges, Cap-Ex Spending Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 7/6/21: Correction, Big M&A News And More…

The Ashton Report 7/2/21: The Complexity Of Labor Challenges, Deals Broadens AQ And More…

June

The Ashton Report 6/25/21: Post-Pandemic E&S Market Teething Pains And More…

The Ashton Report 6/18/21: Commodities Prices Peaking? And More On Labor & Automation…

The Ashton Report 6/11/21: The Limits Of Automation, MAFSI And AutoQuotes Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 6/4/21: 1Q-21 MAFSI Barometer Improves, Ali Bids Cash For Welbilt And More…

May

The Ashton Report 5/25/21: New CDC Mask & Distance Recommendations Change Pandemic Landscape And More…

The Ashton Report 5/18/21: Special Issue-What 1Q-21 Public E&S And Chain Earnings Reports Tell Us, And More…

The Ashton Report 5/7/21: Recovery Victories & Challenges, Heading To The Show And More…

April

The Ashton Report 4/30/21: Bumps On the Road To Recovery, Views Of Middleby-Welbilt Deal And More…

The Ashton Report 4/23/21: Big Deal: Middleby To Buy Welbilt, Pentair Picks Up Ken Beverage And More…

The Ashton Report 4/16/21: Lots Of Very Good Numbers, Tech-24 Buys Another Co., And More…

The Ashton Report 4/6/21: Spring Break! For FS, Ali & Singer Equip. Acquisitions, New Hoshizaki Prez And More…

March

The Ashton Report 3/25/21: Covid Confusion, New School Distancing Rule, Live Venue Grants And More…

The Ashton Report 3/22/21: Vaccines Speed Reopening, More On Supply Chain Issues And More…

The Ashton Report 3/12/21: Tech-24 Buys Chicago Servicer, New AutoQuotes and Public Co. Trends And More…

The Ashton Report 3/5/21: Exclusive Interview: Steelite’s John Miles; Freight Issues And More…

February

The Ashton Report 2/26/21: Middleby Promotions, An Exclusive Interview With CEO Tim FitzGerald And More…

The Ashton Report 2/19/21: Why I’m Optimistic, NRA Fights $15 Wage, Commodity Prices Surge And More…

The Ashton Report 2/15/21: NAFEM Honors O’Sullivan, New Role For Bassoul, Covid Relief Hope And More…

The Ashton Report 2/1/21: Biden’s Actions On Covid Safety, Immigration & Minimum Wage. NRA 2021 Forecast, Kim Gill Rimsza To Retire And More…

January

The Ashton Report 1/23/21: Ali Founder Luciano Berti, More Covid Relief?, Why Consumer And Business Confidence Are Diverging And More…

The Ashton Report 1/15/21: More Signs Of Economic Slowdown, Covid Impacts, Lakeside’s Carlson And Perlick’s Koelbl To Retire And More…

The Ashton Report 1/8/21: Two Acquisitions & A New Execs At Tech-24, Middleby Buys Cooking Equipment Co. In China, CFS Buys AyrKing & More…