Cattle markets, packing margins and the "beef boom"

Making the rounds this morning is a Bloomberg news story reported by Shruti Singh yesterday evening, headlined, “American Beef Boom is Probably Over.” According to Cassie Fish with The Beef, the story correctly mentions that fed cattle prices rallied during Q4. But beyond that, Singh’s presentation of context for the current state of the U.S. cattle and beef industry was less than accurate. The article primarily focuses on packer margins, which are currently undergoing a normal, seasonal contraction which occurs in Q1 virtually every year. What the article doesn’t make clear is that the U.S. packing industry is coming off the most profitable 9 consecutive months in its history and, as importantly, more profitable quarters are likely on tap for these companies. Read more at TheBeef.com….