Whole wheat flour accounts for just 4.1% of total US flour production

US whole wheat flour production declined by 1.3% year-on-year in July–September 2026 to 4.297 mln hundredweight (cwt), marking the lowest third-quarter figure on record. According to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), production stood at 4.352 mln cwt in the same period last year. However, output increased by 1.8% compared with the second quarter of 2026.

Whole wheat flour accounted for just 4.1% of total US flour production in the third quarter, unchanged from a year earlier. The share has remained at the same level for five consecutive quarters. By comparison, whole wheat flour consistently represented more than 5% of total flour production before 2020, reaching a peak of 5.9% in 2015.

In the first nine months of 2026, US whole wheat flour production totaled 17.032 mln cwt, compared with 17.599 mln cwt in the corresponding period last year. This represents a decline of 567 thsd cwt, or approximately 3.2%. The figures indicate that the downward trend in whole wheat flour output continues in the US milling industry.

Meanwhile, whole wheat semolina production, used primarily in pasta manufacturing, increased by 44% year-on-year in the third quarter to 95 thsd cwt, compared with 66 thsd cwt a year earlier. Its share of total semolina production reached 1.3%, the highest level in three years. However, production for the first nine months remained unchanged at 227 thsd cwt.

Excluding semolina, US whole wheat flour production declined by 2% year-on-year in July–September to 4.202 mln cwt. Its share of the corresponding flour production segment fell from 4.4% to 4.3%. Despite growth in whole wheat semolina output, the overall figures show that whole grain products continue to account for a significantly smaller share of the US milling industry than they did before 2020.

Tags: flour, USA