Mackey: Tight Supplies Leave Some Packers Searching For Inventory
On Friday, week-to-date the industry traded 63,049 cash cattle and 38,335 grids. Off Friday’s report that’s 12,000 fewer than a week ago. This was done at mostly steady money in the South at $170 cwt and higher in the North with a primary range of $176-180 cwt, live and $280 dressed.
The current front-end supply and winter delayed calf-feds have the northern packers stretched for inventory. We heard more reports of several northern packers searching for loads of cattle in Kansas to be shipped quickly. One would start to wonder with the increased presence of additional bidders, will Kansas begin to see higher price action? Time will tell, when looking at the northern clean ups and new showlists to be distributed, the North isn’t into the big numbers just yet.
Harvest came in at 642,000 vs 646,000 a week ago. Still a supportive pace especially as the boxes continue to react to the season. Choice boxed beef printed $301.10 per cwt. Friday, $2.79 higher. As feeders look to continue to dig into the packer’s pocket, we will hear more reports of Holiday shortened hours and reduced chain speed.
Cattle on Feed report out Friday was right at the industry estimates: COF 97, PLC 96, MRK 90. It continues to support the reduced available supply in the weeks to come, all states having fewer cattle on feed than a year ago.
A native of Torrington, WY, Brodie Mackey joined Consolidated Beef Producers in the spring of 2013 after earning his B.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Brodie’s focus at CBP includes customer development, cattle marketing and evaluation in Nebraska, Northeast Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. For more about Consolidated Beef Producers visit here.
