Total red meat supplies in freezers on Dec. 31 were up about 2% from the previous month and up about 11% from last year, the USDA said in its monthly Cold Storage report Wednesday.
Total frozen poultry supplies on Dec. 31 were up about 7% from the previous month and up about 23% from a year ago, the USDA said.
BEEF STORES RISE
Total pounds of beef in freezers were 543.955 million pounds, up 20.692 million, or 3.95%, from 523.263 million the previous month and up 36.832 million, or 7.26%, from 507.123 million last year.
Of that, 45.730 million pounds was classed as “beef cuts,” up 1.136 million, or 2.55%, from 44.594 million a month earlier and up 6.536 million, or 16.7%, from 39.194 million a year earlier.
Another 498.225 million pounds were classed as “boneless” beef, up 19.556 million, or 4.09%, from 478.669 million a month earlier and up 30.296 million, or 6.47%, from 467.929 million a year earlier.
PORK SUPPLIES ALSO RISE
Frozen pork supplies totaled 458.142 million pounds at the end of December, up 6.587 million, or 1.46%, from 451.555 million the previous month and up 61.681 million, or 15.6%, from 396.461 million last year.
Stocks of pork bellies, at 63.060 million pounds, were up 16 percent from 54.429 million last month and up 66 percent from 38.069 million last year.
Frozen hams totaled 53.416 million pounds, down 1.868 million, or 3.38%, from 55.284 million a month earlier and down 7.938 million, or 12.9%, from 61.354 million a year earlier.
Total loins on ice were 36.412 million pounds, down 2.967 million, or 7.53%, from 39.379 million a month earlier and down 239,000, or 0.65%, from 36.651 million a year earlier.
CHICKEN STOCKS UP
Total stocks of chicken were 931.844 million pounds, up 20.303 million, or 2.23%, from 911.541 million the previous month and up 188.865 million, or 25.4%, from 742.979 million last year.
Of that, 13.957 million pounds were whole birds, up 2.725 million, or 24.3%, from 11.232 million a month earlier and up 1.726 million, or 14.1%, from 12.231 million a year earlier.
Chicken breasts and breast meat in storage totaled 250.259 million pounds, up from 241.295 million a month earlier and up from 153.158 million a year earlier.
Leg quarters totaled 93.463 million pounds, down 4.797 million, or 4.88%, from 98.260 million in November but up 16.591 million, or 21.6%, from 76.872 million in 2022.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers were 189.715 million, up 49.448 million, or 35.3%, from 140.267 million last month and up 23.961 million, or 14.5%, from 165.754 million on Dec. 31, 2021.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $154.80 to $158.00 per cwt, compared with last week’s range of $156.00 to $158.90. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $244.52 to $247.99 per cwt, versus $245.49 to $251.62.
The USDA choice cutout Wednesday was down $1.36 per cwt at $268.28 while select was off $0.59 at $251.80. The choice/select spread narrowed to $16.48 from $17.25 with 113 loads of fabricated product and 24 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.70 to $1.90 a bushel over the Mar corn contract. Bids in Kansas were steady at $0.85 over Mar, which settled at $6.74 3/4 a bushel, down $0.02 1/4.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Tuesday was $177.77 per cwt, up $0.24. This compares with Wednesday’s Jan contract settlement of $179.40 per cwt, up $0.45, and Mar’s $183.75, up $0.15.