Profit Tracker
Average cattle feeding margins were near steady last week despite weaker cash prices. Pork producer margins slipped further into the red as lean carcass prices dropped more than 3% for the week.
Rising production costs and steady to weaker cash prices trimmed cattle feeding margins to near breakeven levels. Pork producer margins remain solidly in the red.
Beef packers saw per head losses nearly double last week as wholesale beef prices tumbled $7 per cwt. lower. Pork processors are also found negative margins and producer margins remain short of breakeven.
Negative margins continue growing for beef packers as tightening supplies of cattle support cash prices $17 per cwt. higher than the same week a year ago.
Profit margins for cattle feeders increased as cash prices moved higher last week. Pork producers continue operating with negative margins.
Cash cattle and wholesale beef prices moved higher last week, increasing profit margins for both cattle feeders and beef packers. Pork producers saw modest per head losses.
Average cattle feeding margins increased last week as negotiated cash prices set new record highs.
Cattle feeders have experienced their best month in years with prices reaching record levels. Hog producers, however, are struggling to keep margins out of the red.
As cash cattle prices have been on an upward trajectory in 2023, packer margins have correspondingly moved lower. Sterling Marketing’s weekly estimates are printing packer margins red for the first time in six years.
Rising wholesale beef prices and declining packing plant utilization are two indicators to watch as the 2023 cattle markets unfold.
Cattle and hog harvest rates were lower last week with higher cash prices paid to farmers and feeders. Margins for both beef and pork packers are trending lower.
Cattle feeders saw their margins shrink $70 per head last week as a modest increase in market-ready supplies led packers to sharply cut their negotiated purchases.
Grilling season set to kick off as both packers and cattle feeders operating with profitable margins. Pork producers continue the struggle to reach profitability.
Cattle feeders experience largest average profits in seven years as packer margins dip into the red.
Cattle feeders saw average profits of more than $300 per head last week while pork producers found average losses of about $13 per head.
Cattle feeders sold more cattle last week than any week this year and at the highest price in history. Pork producers saw modest profits.
Profit margins for cattle feeders and packers continue pacing in opposite directions as shrinking supplies of market-ready cattle drive negotiated cash prices higher.
Packers have navigated through the tightest supplies of the season while maintaining profitability. Now, supplies are anticipated to increase seasonally which could swing more leverage in their favor.
Cash cattle prices declined last week for the first time in a month, but wholesale prices moved higher for the fifth consecutive week. Prices for yearling feeder cattle placed on feed topped $200 per cwt.
If a seasonal price decline develops as anticipated, this year’s starting point for cattle feeders is the best in a decade. Pork producers notch their second week of modest profits.
Wholesale beef prices continue to support packer margins even as negotiated cash cattle trade well-above the five-year average. Pork producers enjoy a market rally that has lifted margins out of the red.