Placements of cattle into US feedlots during May were almost 8pc below levels a year earlier, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Fed cattle marketings fell further, contributing to a growing drop in cattle slaughtered this year.
The number of cattle placed into feedlots with a capacity of thousand head or more fell to 1.89mn head, about 8pc below May last year. Total cattle and calves on feed were at 11.44mn as of 1 June, roughly the same as inventory in June 2024.
Placements could continue to shrink because US feedlots face record high prices cattle prices and a ban on cattle imports from Mexico from mid-May because of the New World Screwworm outbreak. Mexico accounted for over 60pc of all cattle imports into the US last year, despite the southern border being closed from late November, USDA data show.
Fed cattle marketings — or cattle leaving feedlots for processing — for May are down by 10pc on the year to 1.76mn head. Fewer cattle exiting feedlots and a smaller national herd is slowing national slaughter rates. USDA data shows commercial cattle slaughter totalled 12.54mn head in January–May, about 6pc below numbers processed in the same period last year.
But the loss to beef production, which is down by only 2pc on the year over the same period, is being moderated by heavier cattle being slaughtered. Average live weights are almost 40lbs heavier over the period because cattle are being held and fed for longer.
Overall beef output is forecast to fall by 2pc this year to 26,358mn lbs (11.96mn t), with the USDA revising its import estimate higher last week to 5,187mn lbs (2.35mn t) carcass weight equivalent, due in part to demand for lean trimmings. Total cow slaughter is down by 14pc on the year in January-May with cows and bulls representing a smaller share of the slaughter mix, USDA data shows.
