Total red meat supplies in freezers on Oct. 31 were down about 2% from the previous month and down about 3% from last year, said the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report.
Total frozen poultry supplies on Oct. 31 were down about 7% from the previous month and down about 6% from a year ago.
BEEF STOCKS MIXED
Total pounds of beef in freezers, at 431.876 million pounds, were up 19.429 million, or 4.71%, from 412.447 million the previous month but down 13.792 million, or 3.09%, from 445.668 million last year.
Of that, “boneless” beef totaled 387.270 million pounds, up 15.863 million, or 4.27%, from 371.407 million a month ago but down 16.819 million, or 4.16%, from 404.089 million a year ago.
Another 44.606 million pounds were “beef cuts.” This was up 3.566 million, or 8.69%, from 41.040 million on Sep. 30 and up 3.027 million, or 7.28%, from 41.579 million on Oct. 30, 2023.
PORK STOCKS DOWN
Pork stocks in cold storage totaled 426.025 million pounds, down 32.366 million, or 7.06%, from 458.391 million a month earlier and down 11.876 million, or 2.71%, from 437.901 million a year earlier.
Stocks of pork bellies, at 16.240 million pounds, were down 1.476 million, or 8.33%, from 17.716 million last month and down 11.821 million, or 42.1%, from 28.061 million last year.
Frozen hams totaled 116.147 million pounds, down 39.157 million, or 25.2%, from 155.304 million last month but up 2.577 million, or 2.27%, from 113.570 million a year ago.
Pork loins on ice totaled 38.825 million pounds, up 27,000, or 0.07%, from 38.798 million in September but down 9.490 million, or 32.4%, from 29.335 million in October 2023.
CHICKEN STOCKS MIXED
Total stocks of chicken, at 803.551 million pounds, were up 28.463 million, or 3.67%, from 775.088 million the previous month but down 55.151 million, or 6.42%, from 858.703 million last year.
Frozen whole chickens totaled 12.869 million pounds, down 705,000, or 5.19%, from 13.574 million a month earlier and down 2.439 million, or 15.9%, from 15.308 million a year earlier.
Chicken breasts and breast meat in cold storage totaled 228.376 million pounds, up 6.245 million, or 2.81%, from 222.131 million a month earlier but down 7.327 million, or 3.11%, from 235.703 million a year earlier.
Frozen leg quarters totaled 63.115 million pounds, up 6.414 million, or 11.3%, from 56.701 million a month ago but down 4.015 million, or 5.98%, from 67.130 million a year ago.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers, at 307.735 million pounds, were down 28% from last month and down 4% from 67.130 million Oct. 31, 2023.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $186.86 per cwt to $187.64, compared with last week’s range of $185.00 to $190.15 per cwt. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $290.89 per cwt to $294.97, compared with $290.32 to $295.19.
The USDA choice cutout Tuesday was up $1.86 per cwt at $311.57 while select was up $1.75 at $275.49. The choice/select spread widened to $36.08 from $35.97 with 105 loads of fabricated product and 24 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef was $328.45 per cwt, and 50% beef was $86.21.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.35 to $1.54 a bushel over the Dec corn contract and unchanged in Kansas at $0.25 over Dec, which settled at $4.20 a bushel, down $0.04 3/4.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Monday was $255.71 per cwt, up $0.99. This compares with Tuesday’s Jan contract settlement of $258.10, up $2.62.