28 January 2008

3 minute read

North America

Ron Plain

Retail beef prices in December 2007 were down 1.1 percent from November but up 4.9 percent from December 2006. For all of 2007, retail beef prices were up 4.7 percent from a year earlier.

All segments of the beef industry benefited from the higher retail prices but the packer. The processor-retailer margin for 2007 was up 9.3 percent from a year earlier, the packer margin was down 18.4 percent but the cattle feeder prices were up 7.7 percent from 2006. Margins for the beef packer have not been good for about five years.

Beef exports in November 2007 were up 15 percent from twelve months earlier. Beef exports for the January-November 2007 period were up 26.1 percent from a year earlier.

Beef imports for January-November were the same as a year earlier. Net beef imports for January-November declined from 7.6 percent of production in 2006 to 6.5 percent of production in the first eleven months of 2007. These larger exports are a part of the reason why live fed cattle demand for January-November was up between 3 and 4 percent from twelve months earlier.

Live cattle imports from Mexico for January-November were down 14.8 percent but live cattle imports from Canada were up 33.5 percent from the same months of 2006. Total live cattle imports for the first eleven months of 2007 were up 7.5 percent from a year earlier.

The trade estimates of the Cattle on Feed for January 1, 2008, show the number on feed up 1.1 percent, placements of cattle on feed during December up 2.6 percent and fed marketings during December up 0.3 percent from a year earlier.

Feeder cattle and calves at Oklahoma City this week were $1-2 per cwt higher following the substantially lower prices last week. The price range by weight groups for medium and large frame No. 1 steers were: 400-500 pounds $119.50 per cwt, 500-600 pounds $106.50-122 per cwt, 600-700 pounds $99.35-109 per cwt, 700-800 pounds $94.50-101.50 per cwt and 800-1,000 pounds $90-98 per cwt.

The wholesale Choice beef price Friday morning at $142.97 per cwt was down $3.15 per cwt from a week earlier. Select beef at $136.71 per cwt was down $2.30 per cwt from seven days earlier.

The weighted average price of live fed cattle through last week showed the five-market at $90.10 per cwt up $1.66 per cwt for the week through Thursday.

The weighted average five-market live fed cattle price this week through Thursday at $89.30 per cwt was up $1.06 per cwt from a week earlier. The weighted five-market average carcass price for fed cattle through Thursday at $141.50 per cwt, down $1.24 per cwt from a week earlier. The negotiated market was very thin through Thursday.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 640 thousand head, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

The January 1 Cattle on Feed report came a little more bullish than the trade estimates but still very close to the trade estimates. The Cattle on Feed number was up one percent, the trade estimates were for a 1.1 percent increase, placements of cattle on feed during December were down 0.8 percent, the trade estimates were for a 2.6 percent increase and fed marketings during December were up one percent, the trade estimates were for a 0.3 percent increase.

TheCattleSite News Desk