USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattle on feed as of 1 June to be 99 percent of last year. May placements and marketing are expected to be 98 and 100 percent respectively of last year’s totals.
May placements at 98 percent of last year represents somewhat of a rebound; April placements were 94 percent of 2023 and March placements were just 88 percent of the year prior total. Year to date, total placements (assuming the average pre-report estimate for May) are 9.02 million head, about 351,000 head less, or 96 percent of the 2023 five-month total of 9.371 million head. Notably, imports from Mexico and Canada are both ahead of last ye...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
