Agricultural News
Wholesale Boxed Beef Trade Higher, Reflecting Seasonal Start of Spring Grilling Rally
Tue, 01 Mar 2016 02:32:46 CST
On a regular basis, Ed Czerwein of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Market News Office in Amarillo, Texas offers a review of the previous week's boxed beef trade. Here is his report of weekly boxed beef trade for week ending February 27.
The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $217.67 which was $6.01 hgr compared to the previous Friday. There were 643 loads sold for the week in the daily box beef cutout which was about 11 % of the total volume.
The Comprehensive or weekly average Choice cutout which includes all types of sales including the daily spot cutout was $213.43 which was $1.78 higher for the week. However, this is the time of the year when we normally make our turnaround and start the grilling season rally.
There were 5769 total loads sold which were 293 loads lower than the previous week. The formula sales were at 3115 loads which was 5 loadss higher than last week and it was about 54 percent of the total loads sold this week.
Exports as reported on the Boxed Beef report represent primarily muscle cuts and were 792 loads which was 117 loads higher. 112 loads were sold to our NAFTA Neighbors and 680 loads were shipped overseas.
The out-front sales which won't be delivered for at least 22 days totalled 824 loads which was 231 loads lower than last week and provided most of the total drop in sales volume.
Taking a look at the weekly avg primal cut prices, we see the Choice chuck and the round primal were $3 to $5 lower. The Choice middle meats found the rib was $7 higher this week and the loin was $12 higher. Both of these items normally start a seasonal rally as we approach the grilling season and that helps to widen the Choice Select spread. The rib bottomed out around $315 at the end of the year and has started to trade above 340 in the daily spot trade which keeps pulling the weekly average higher.
The daily Cow Cutout was almost one dollar higher and 90 % trimmings were almost two dollars higher. The cow cutout was $168.47 and those ninety percent trimmings ended the week at $211.64. Slaughter cow volume at auctions have continued to slip down a little after the bigger fall runs, and also there are more bred cows being reported at auctions recently which further reduces slaughter cow numbers and helps push the cow meat higher after the fall runs are over.
The latest report of imported meat passed for entry into the US for week ending February 20th showed that week we imported 16,940 metric tons of fresh beef which was about 3000 metric tons lower than the previous week and 1300 loads below last year. The Year to date Total Tonnage was 13 percent below last year. Australia was down 27 percent and New Zealand was down 10 percent compared to last year but Canada was up 5 percent and Mexico was up 20 percent.
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