Editor’s Note: Thursday, November 26th is the US Thanksgiving holiday and Hidenet will not publish a Daily Report.
THE DAY AT A GLANCE
- Very few offers
- USDA releases Cattle on Feed report
- LHCA reports latest on maritime issue
- Pecca Leather had six-day closure over COVID-19
- Study: US meat plants accelerated spread of COVID-19
- Today’s trend: Steady
HEAVY NATIVE STEERS
- Seasonal weights were offered at $39.00.
INDUSTRY NEWS
USDA releases Cattle on Feed report
USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed (COF) report Friday afternoon. The numbers for U.S. feedlots 1000 head or larger were:
- COF 1 November 1: 11.973M head, 101.3% of a year ago
- Placed in October: 2.192M head, 89.0%
- Marketed in October: 1.873M head, 99.9%
Analysts regarded the report as slightly positive. October placements were 1.8% smaller than the average forecast and were below last year in all weight categories. October marketings were 0.1% below a year ago but were 4.4% above last year after taking one less slaughter day this year into account. The November 1 COF total was 157,000 head above the November 1 total last year and was the largest for the date in USDA’s data series.
The under 600 lb category saw 30,000 fewer cattle placed than last year (570,000 head). The 600-699 lb category saw 45,000 fewer cattle placed (495,000 head). The 700-799 lb category saw 52,000 fewer cattle placed (465,000 head), the 800-899 lb category saw 73,000 fewer cattle placed (387,000 head), the 900-999 lb category saw 45,000 fewer cattle placed (185,000 head) and the 1000 lbs plus category saw 25,000 fewer cattle placed (90,000 head) than a year ago.
LHCA reports latest on maritime issue
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) last week approved a Supplemental Order that expands the authority of Fact Finding 29, “International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement.” The Order authorizes the FMC to investigate ocean carriers operating in alliances, and will focus on policies and practices of those shipping companies related to detention and demurrage, container return and container availability. The investigation will examine conditions in the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and New York/New Jersey. LHCA has been actively involved in agriculture transportation issues and will provide further updates when they become available. More here.
Pecca Leather had six-day closure over COVID-19
Pecca Leather
Pecca Leather suspended operations on the production floor due to COVID-19 exposure for six days last week. The company resumed operations on 23 November 2020, manned by production staff who tested COVID‐19 negative and staff who had no close contact with the positive cases. Office employees continue to work from home, under strict advice to continue abiding by the stringent Ministry of Health (MOH) regulations at all times.
After completing more than 600 tests on Pecca employees, two Pecca employees tested positive and are receiving medical care as per MOH regulations. Close contacts of the employees are still in quarantine and will be tested again on Wednesday, November 25th. They are not allowed to return to operations pending the results of the second test. In line with MOH’s latest advisory and review of Pecca’s preventive measures, the Group shall continue the frequency of disinfection of its premises three times daily, and raise budget allocations for more stringent safety practices.
Pecca does not anticipate material financial impact from the six-day closure and will continue serving its clients with the same level of reliability as before.
Study: US meat plants accelerated spread of COVID-19
AgWeb
New research published by the National Academy of Sciences ties livestock meatpacking plants to 6% to 8% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, and 3% to 4% of the deaths through late July.
The authors said the data show “a strong positive relationship” between meatpacking plants and “local community transmission,” suggesting the plants act as “transmission vectors” and “accelerate the spread of the virus.”
Researchers at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business found that the risk of excess death primarily came from large meatpacking plants operated by industry giants. Communities that acted to shut down slaughterhouses reduced spread, according to the researchers.
In a statement, the North American Meat Institute said, “Meat and poultry companies continue to invest, more than $1 billion so far, in significant changes and improvements regarding COVID-19 prevention and control practices to protect the men and women who work in their facilities. By limiting the data examined to July 21, 2020, the article does not evaluate the complete timeline of information. The authors fail to capture the downward trend of positive cases associated with the meat and poultry industry into the summer and fall, especially in contrast to the positive cases reaching new highs around the nation.
“Significantly, even the authors suggest caution, saying ‘The best we can do here is provide an unusually broad array of observational evidence’ and that they do not want to ‘overstate the hardness of our method.’ The timeline limitations, coupled with those cautions, should give pause to drawing any conclusions.”
The peer-reviewed study was published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
MARKET OBSERVATIONS
- Offer lists are reported to be very short with some producers not offering all.
- Bids are few and far between and it seems that buyers, as well as sellers, will be in holiday mode this week.
- That said, sellers are still well-positioned and not inclined to accept lower bids. Sales are expected to be low this week.
- Sources say that the slowdown in interest from Chinese customers is in good part over prices and that footwear demand still does not support the volume of hides that have been purchased.
FEDERALLY INSPECTED SLAUGHTER
| Today | 122,000 |
| Last week | 121,000 |
| Last year | 109,000 |
| Week to date | 242,000 |
| Last week | 240,000 |
| Last year | 229,000 |
Monday’s slaughter included 95,000 steers/heifers and 25,000 cows and bulls.
PRICES AT THE CLOSE OF TRADING TODAY
| SELECTION | WEIGHT | PER PC FOB | LAST WEEK | LAST YEAR |
| Heavy Texas Steers | 62-64 | $29.00–30.00 | $29.00–30.00 | $27.00–28.00 |
| Heavy Texas Steers (Heavy) | 74-76 | $30.00-34.50 | $30.00-34.50 | $29.00-30.00 |
| Branded Steers | 62-64 | $29.50-30.00 | $29.50-30.00 | $26.00–27.00 |
| Branded Steers (Heavy) | 74-76 | $32.00-33.00 | $32.00-33.00 | $32.00-33.00 |
| Colorado Steers | 62-64 | $29.50-30.00 | $29.50-30.00 | $26.00–27.00 |
| Butt Branded Steers | 62-64 | $34.50–37.00 | $34.50–37.00 | $35.50–36.00 |
| Butt Branded Steers (Heavy) | 74-76 | $41.00-42.00 | $41.00-42.00 | $38.00–42.00 |
| Heavy Native Steers | 62-64 | $39.00–41.50 | $39.00–41.50 | $38.00-39.00 |
| Heavy Native Steers (Heavy) | 74-76 | $42.00-43.00 | $42.00-43.00 | $44.00-45.00 |
| Heavy Native Heifers | 50-52 | $28.00-29.00 | $28.00-29.00 | $24.00-25.00 |
| Branded Heifers | 50-52 | $19.50–20.00 | $19.50–20.00 | $20.00–21.00 |
| Heavy Native Cows | 50-52 | $10.00-16.00 | $10.00-16.00 | $8.50-9.50 |
| Branded Cows | 50-52 | $10.00–11.50 | $10.00–11.50 | $4.00-5.00 |
| Holstein dairy cows | 50-52 | $22.00-24.00 | $22.00-24.00 | $18.00-19.00 |
| Native Bulls | 110-120 | $2.00-4.00n | $2.00-4.00n | $15.00-16.00 |
