Total red meat supplies in freezers on May 31 were down about 3% from the previous month and down about 5% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday.
Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 3% from the previous month but down about 5% from a year ago, the USDA said.
BEEF STOCKS DOWN
The beef in freezers at the end of May totaled 423.684 million pounds, down 14.846 million, or 3.39%, from 438.530 million the previous month and down 1.976 million, or 0.46%, from 425.660 million last year.
Of that, 382.685 million pounds were classed as “boneless” beef, down 16.347 million, or 4.10%, from 399.032 million a month earlier and down 2.418 million, or 0.63%, from 385.103 million a year earlier.
Another 40.999 million pounds were classed as “beef cuts,” up 1.501 million, or 3.80%, from 39.498 million a month earlier and up 442,000, or 1.09%, from 40.557 million a year earlier.
PORK SUPPLIES DOWN
Frozen pork supplies were 481.887 million pounds, down 3%, from 499.308 million the previous month and down 9%, from 531.757 million last year.
Stocks of pork bellies, at 71.374 million pounds, were down 5.318 million, or 6.93%, from 76.692 million last month and down 11.157 million, or 13.5%, from 82.531 million last year.
Frozen hams amounted to 110.707 million pounds, up 15.755 million, or 16.6%, from 94.952 million last month but down 26.452 million, or 19.3%, from 137.159 million last year.
Total pork loins in cold storage amounted to 34.089 million pounds, down 4.948 million, or 12.7%, from 39.037 million a month ago but up 1.199 million, or 3.65%, from 32.890 million a year ago.
Pork ribs on ice at the end of May totaled 74.597 million pounds, down 18.457 million, or 19.8%, from 93.054 million at the end of April and down 4.785 million, or 6.03%, from 79.382 million on May 31, 2023.
CHICKEN STOCKS MIXED
Total stocks of chicken, at 747.414 million pounds, were up 7.267 million, or 0.98%, from 740.147 million the previous month but down 87.063 million, or 10.4%, from 834.477 million last year.
Frozen whole chickens totaled 12.596 million pounds, up 1.522 million, or 13.7%, from 11.074 million a month earlier but down 2.209 million, or 14.9%, from 14.805 million a year earlier.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers were 422.937 million pounds, up 8% from 390.482 million last month and up 5% from 402.186 million last year.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $190.81 per cwt to $197.00, compared with last week’s range of $186.00 to $198.26 per cwt. FOB dressed steers, and heifers went for $295.27 per cwt to $301.88, compared with $291.73 to $303.78.
The USDA choice cutout Tuesday was up $0.75 per cwt at $323.39 while select was up $0.19 at $305.26. The choice/select spread widened to $18.13 from $17.57 with 101 loads of fabricated product and 19 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The weighted average USDA listed wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef was $367.24 per cwt, and 50% beef was $93.36.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.50 to $1.60 a bushel over the Jul corn contract, which settled at $4.25 1/2 a bushel, down $0.08.
No delivery intentions were posted Tuesday for the Jun live cattle futures contract.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Monday was $257.90 per cwt, down $0.44. This compares with Tuesday’s Aug contract settlement of $259.05, up $0.15.