24 September 2007

3 minute read

North America

Beef exports for July 2007 were up 59 percent from a year earlier. Beef exports for January-July were up 25.7 percent from the same months of 2006.

Beef imports for January-July were up 3.2 percent from last year. Net beef imports as a percent of production at 7.7 percent were down from 8.4 percent a year earlier.

Live cattle imports from Mexico for January-July were down 17.9 percent from 12 months earlier. Live cattle imports from Canada were up 17.3 percent for the first seven months of 2007 from 2006. Total live cattle imports for January-July were down 2.2 percent from 12 months earlier.

USDA has approved the imports of older cattle and beef from Canada to start later this year.

The trade estimates of the Cattle on Feed report to be released this Friday afternoon are for the on-feed number to be down 6.5 percent, the placed on feed during August to be down 7.5 percent and the fed marketings during July to be up 0.8 percent for 2006.

Retail Choice beef prices for the U.S. for August were up 0.4 percent from July at $4.15 per pound. The August 2007 price was up 4.6 percent from a year earlier.

Everyone in the industry benefited from the higher retail prices but the packer. The fed cattle prices for January-August were up 8.6 percent. The producer-retailer margin was up 7.8 percent but the packers' margin for the first eight months of 2007 was down 17.5 percent from 12 months earlier. In times with tight fed cattle supplies, the packers in the beef industry usually have to work with tighter margins.

Feeder cattle prices this week at Oklahoma City showed feeder steers and heifers $1-3 per cwt lower than last week. Steer calves were steady to $1 per cwt lower and heifer calves were $2-5 per cwt lower than seven days earlier.

The price range by weight groups for medium and large frame number one steers this week at Oklahoma City were: 400-500 pounds $125-144.50 per cwt, 500-600 pounds $117-128 per cwt, 600-700-pound calves $116.50-119.50, 700-750-pound calves $107.25-112.50, 600-700-pound yearlings $118-124 per cwt, 700-800 pounds $115-121 per cwt and 800-1,000 pounds $103.75-116 per cwt.

Cow slaughter for the year through the week ending September 1 was up 8.1 percent from 2006. However, cow slaughter for the four-week period ending September 1 was down 5.8 percent from a year earlier, but cow slaughter for the four-week period ending September 2, 2007, was up 24.6 percent from 12 months earlier. So even though cow slaughter recently has been below last year it is still large compared to two years earlier. We do not believe cow-calf producers are changing the size of the cow herd very much in either direction.

Wholesale beef price this Friday morning showed Choice beef at $144.82 per cwt down $0.86 per cwt from a week earlier. Select beef prices were down $2.70 per cwt at $136.18 per cwt Friday morning.

The live weighted average fed cattle price for the five-market area through Thursday afternoon at $91.40 per cwt was the same as a week earlier. The weighted average carcass price for the five-market area was down $0.45 per cwt from seven days earlier at $144.45 per cwt.

Slaughter this week under Federal Inspection was estimated at 645 thousand head, down 2.0 percent from a year earlier.

The cattle on feed report came in very close to trade expectations. The number on feed was down 6.2 percent, the number placed on feed during August was down 7.5 percent and the number marketed during August was the same as a year earlier. A more detailed summary of the report will be in next week's letter.

TheCattleSite News Desk