Agricultural News
Boxed Beef Load Count Way Down Last Week, Ed Czerwien Says
Mon, 30 Dec 2013 13:13:20 CST
The daily spot choice boxed beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $196.99, which was $0.20 higher than the previous Friday but with only 486 loads sold for the week in the daily reported spot cutout trade, which was one of the lowest load counts in a long, long time.
The comprehensive or average choice cutout which includes all types of sales including formula exports and out-front, was at $196.98 and was $1.07 lower.
The total reported boxed beef volume was 5,074 loads, which was 1,221 loads lower than last week. This is the smallest weekly sales volume since Christmas week of 2008. The four-week rolling sales volume was 6,292 loads compared to 6,622 last year. There was only one 4-week period in the last 5 years that was lower (mid-January last year) and that was only 4 loads less at a 6,288 load average.
Exports were at 601 loads which was 94 loads less than last week.
The formula trade was 301 loads less at 2,802 loads which was 55 percent of the total loads sold. The out-front sales were 708 loads which was 438 loads less than the previous week.
In the spot trade, the primal cuts were very uneven once again with chucks, rounds, and loins 1 to 5 higher but choice ribs took another big dive again, dropping 17 dollars, which makes it way over a 50 dollar drop in the last three weeks. Ribs which are the meat of choice at many office and company Christmas parties usually takes a seasonal drop at the end of December, but this year it has been very pronounced.
The cow cutout was 2 higher showing a 10 dollar gain during the last three weeks and 90-percent trimmings were about $4.00 higher again compared to the previous Friday. Slaughter cow prices and trimmings prices jumped since most auctions are closed for the holidays providing very little available supply other than cows that were bought early and put into feedlots for harvest now.
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