Despite the challenges facing the industry at the beginning of the third quarter, the beef industry has processed more fed cattle in third-quarter 2020 than the previous year.

Packers continue to make gains on processing of fed cattle post-COVID-19 plant disruptions in the second quarter.

The latest monthly trade data were released by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) in early November. The September data continued to show adjustments from the beef production and beef price changes earlier in the year, as well as the impacts of global beef demand.

Packers continue to make gains on the processing of fed cattle. Based on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) data for actual and estimated slaughter of steers and heifers in August, the pace of fed cattle slaughtered appears to have risen above year-ago levels for the first time since March (see Figure 1).

In July, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the mid-year Cattle report, which provided a snapshot of U.S. cattle inventory as well as a glimpse into cow-calf producers’ intentions for retaining heifers.

Meatpacking facilities have continued to recover weekday slaughter capacity and have used Saturday as an opportunity to improve overall weekly slaughter totals.

U.S. beef trade continues to adjust to supply and demand shocks. The latest data release from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) shows the impact of these shocks on U.S beef exports and imports.

Over the past two months at the time of this writing, U.S. beef packers had to implement new health protocols for dealing with COVID-19 that might have hindered their ability to process cattle.

In first-quarter 2020, beef production reached record levels on the largest number of cattle slaughtered for the quarter since 2002 and the heaviest dressed weights since 2016.

The spread of COVID-19 has caused shifts in the beef demand structure; coupled with global economic uncertainty, it is affecting the entire beef supply chain.