Total red meat supplies in US freezers on June 30 were down about 1% from the previous month but up about 3% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Friday.
Total frozen poultry supplies June 30 were up about 4% from the previous month and up about 2% from a year ago.
BEEF STOCKS DECLINE
Total pounds of beef in freezers, at 389.231 million pounds, were down 13.817 million, or 3.43%, from 403.048 million pounds the previous month and down 11.031 million, or 2.76%, from 400.262 million last year.
Of that, 350.494 million pounds were classed as “boneless” beef, down 13.185 million, or 3.63%, from 363.679 million pounds a month earlier and down 8.154 million, or 2.27%, from 358.648 million a year earlier.
Another 38.737 million pounds was classed as “beef cuts,” down 632,000 pounds, or 1.61%, from 39.369 million last month and down 2.877 million, or 6.91%, from 41.614 million last year.
PORK STOCKS RISE
Frozen pork supplies, at 458.221 million pounds, were up 3.201 million, or 0.70%, from 455.020 million pounds the previous month and up 39.526 million, or 9.44%, from 418.695 million last year.
Stocks of pork bellies, at 52.215 million, were down 1.633 million, or 3.03%, from 53.848 million last month but up 8.115 million, or 18.4%, from 44.100 million last year.
Hams in cold storage totaled 143.035 million pounds, up 16.308 million, or 12.9%, from 126.727 million last month and up 32.349 million, or 29.2%, from 110.686 million last year.
Frozen pork loins totaled 32.209 million pounds, down 2.692 million, or 7.71%, from 34.901 million a month earlier and down 4.393 million, or 12.0%, from 36.602 million a year earlier.
Pork ribs in cold storage amounted to 67.174 million pounds, down from 76.562 million in May but up from 65.055 million on June 30, 2025.
CHICKEN STOCKS RISE
Total stocks of chicken, at 764.796 million pounds, were up 9.161 million, or 1.21%, from 755.635 million the previous month and up 3.525 million, or 0.46%, from 761.271 million last year.
Whole broilers and roasters on ice totaled 11.900 million pounds, up 875,000 pounds, or 7.94%, from 11.025 million a month earlier and up 3.304 million, or 38.4% from 8.596 million a year earlier.
Frozen breasts and breast meat totaled 225.908 million pounds, up 8.604 million, or 3.96%, from 217.304 million a month earlier but down 1.003 million, or 0.44%, from 226.911 million a year earlier.
Leg quarters in freezers totaled 44.994 million pounds, down 1.490 million, or 3.21%, from 46.484 million last month and down 8.462 million, or 15.8%, from 53.456 million last year.
Total pounds of turkey in freezers, 391.063 million pounds, were up 36.236 million, or 10.2%, from 354.827 million last month and up 18.826 million, or 5.06%, from 372.237 million on June 30, 2025.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
The USDA reported formula and contract base prices for live FOB steers and heifers this week ranged from $231.63 per cwt to $232.04, compared with last week’s range of $238.00 to $252.00 per cwt. FOB dressed steers and heifers went for $369.17 per cwt to $371.25, compared with $373.89 to $388.86.
The USDA choice cutout Monday was up $1.65 per cwt at $362.89 while select was down $1.55 at $345.16. The choice/select spread widened to $17.73, from $14.53 with 66 loads of fabricated product and 20 loads of trimmings and grinds sold into the spot market.
The USDA-listed the daily weighted average wholesale price for fresh 90% lean beef as $464.01 per cwt, and 50% beef was $169.62.
The USDA said basis bids for corn from feeders in the Southern Plains were unchanged at $1.18 to $1.33 a bushel over the Sep corn contract, which settled at $4.51 1/4 a bushel, down $0.13.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index for the seven days ended Friday was $347.37 per cwt, down $2.28. This compares with Monday’s Aug contract settlement of $337.25 per cwt, down $8.07.