U.S. production of ice cream and frozen yogurt totals 6.4 billion pounds per year

Errata: On February 11, 2020, this Chart of Note on U.S. production of ice cream and frozen yogurt, published on September 27, 2019, was corrected. Total U.S. production of ice cream and frozen yogurt was corrected from 6.2 billion pounds in 2018 to 6.4 billion pounds.

Americans continue to appreciate a cold treat every now and then, according to the latest ERS data on U.S. ice cream and frozen yogurt production. In 2018, domestic production of low-fat ice cream, regular ice cream, and frozen yogurt totaled just over 6.4 billion pounds. This marked a 4-percent decline compared to 2017, with slight contractions in all three categories. In the aggregate, production of ice cream and frozen yogurt has been stable since 2000, when total production peaked. However, movement has occurred among categories. As consumers have become more conscious of their intake of fats, the ice cream industry has shifted toward increased production of lowfat ice creams at the expense of regular fat content ice creams. Since 2000, production of lowfat ice cream has increased by 20 percent, while regular ice cream production has decreased by 9 percent. Perhaps due to increased availability of non-dairy ice cream options, frozen yogurt has also declined in prevalence. Production of frozen yogurt is down 47 percent since 2000. This chart is drawn from the ERS Dairy Data product, last updated in September 2019.

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