The U.S. beef boom is probably over.
Thanks to tightening animal supplies and tepid demand, companies including Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. meat processor, and Cargill Inc. are facing plunging profits on every head of cattle they slaughter.
That’s a sharp reversal of fortune from last year, when the fastest expansion of the American cattle herd in four decades increased margins for packers. But, the herd growth didn’t last long. As a result, cattle futures in Chicago have rebounded 22 percent since bottoming in mid-October, while the price packers get for wholesale beef has tumbled in the past year amid stiff competition from chicken and pork.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Bloomberg
