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Financial research concept

Foodservice Total Case Volume Growth

measures year-over-year growth in cases distributed to foodservice customers before separating acquisitions, customer mix, or pricing.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 29, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Sep 29, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
10 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Foodservice Distribution Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
3 reviewed companiesRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Case growth is the physical-demand side of sales
  2. Acquisition activity can distort headline volume growth
  3. Part of the Foodservice Distribution Economics
  4. See It in Company Research
  5. Continue Research

Foodservice total case volume growth measures the year-over-year change in cases sold or distributed under a foodservice distributor's counting method.

US Foods reported 1.9% total case-volume growth for the 13 weeks ended June 27, 2026. Performance Food Group reported 5.1% total case-volume growth for fiscal 2026, while Sysco's U.S. Foodservice case volume increased 1.4% for fiscal 2026.

Case growth is the physical-demand side of sales

Case volume helps separate physical demand from food-cost inflation. Revenue can rise because more cases move through the network, because selling prices rise, or because customer and product mix change.

The metric is especially useful in distribution because a case is a warehouse and delivery workload as well as a unit of customer demand.

Acquisition activity can distort headline volume growth

PFG's reported total case growth includes acquired operations. That makes organic case-volume growth a better companion when acquisitions are material.

Definitions also differ by network. Sysco notes that case size can vary within international operations, and some specialty businesses use other physical measures. Investors should preserve issuer scope rather than assume every reported case is economically identical.

Primary sources: US Foods Q2 2026 Form 10-Q, PFG fiscal 2026 Form 10-K, and Sysco fiscal 2026 Form 10-K.

Part of the Foodservice Distribution Economics

Connect case-volume growth and acquisition-normalized demand with local and independent customer mix, proprietary-brand penetration, food-cost inflation, gross margin, and adjusted EBITDA conversion.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Case growth and acquisition normalizationCurrent relationship
    Total case growth measures physical volume before acquisition normalization, organic case growth removes recently acquired operations under issuer policy, and local or independent-customer measures reveal where that volume is coming from. Local and independent definitions remain issuer-specific rather than interchangeable.
    Independent Restaurant Case GrowthLocal Case Volume GrowthOrganic Case Volume GrowthOrganic Independent Case GrowthTotal Case Volume GrowthCurrent concept
  • Customer, brand, and inflation mix
    Independent sales mix shows customer composition, proprietary-brand case mix shows product composition, and food-cost inflation shows the pricing input moving through the distribution model. Each can affect gross profit without representing the same economic lever.
    Food Cost InflationIndependent Sales MixProprietary Brand Case Mix
  • Gross profit and operating conversion
    Gross margin captures sales less product cost, while adjusted EBITDA margin carries the analysis through distribution, selling, administrative, and issuer-defined adjustment layers. Margin conversion therefore depends on both upstream mix and downstream cost productivity.
    Adjusted EBITDA MarginFoodservice Gross Margin

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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Compare foodservice case growth

Compare total case-volume growth before separating acquisition effects, customer mix, inflation, and product mix.

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