This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. More market information, analysis and statistics are available by becoming a Canfax subscriber by calling 403-275-5110 or at www.canfax.ca.
Fed trade thin
Most Alberta direct cash trade developed on Jan. 4 last week with local rail sales $1 per hundredweight higher than the thin trade seen the previous week at $310 per cwt. delivered. U.S. bids of US$238 per cwt. delivered worked back to around a $4.50 per cwt. live equivalent premium to local rail bids at $190.50 f.o.b. the feedlot.
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Additional local live cattle sales were reported from C$183.00-$183.25 per cwt. Kill schedules were generally reported for the first week of February. Weighted average steer prices closed the week $1.50 per cwt. higher than the previous week’s market tone at $186.04 per cwt.
Fed cattle/cow exports to the United States for the week ending Dec. 24 were moderate at 8,898 head, and year-to-date volumes are on track to annually be 10 percent larger at 492,212 head.
The Ontario cash market tone was generally $3 per cwt. stronger than dressed trade seen during the holiday season. The bulk of sales were reported at $323 per cwt. delivered.
The Canadian fed market is expected to maintain price support on anticipated tighter North American market-ready fed supplies. Cold storage beef stocks will be shored up to boost harvests over the next few weeks while fed cattle inventory is available.
In the U.S., trade interest was lacklustre last week and reported sale volumes were light. Thin live trade in the south was fully steady with the previous week at US$157 per cwt. Significant trade did not come to fruition in the north, but scattered live trade was reported around $1 per cwt. lower than the previous week at $157 per cwt., and dressed sales trended steady with the top end of last week at $252 per cwt. delivered.
Last week’s total U.S. cattle slaughter was estimated three percent larger than the previous week at 563,000 head. Stocker and feeders traded steady to $7 per cwt. higher on good technical support and tightened supplies.
Packers seek cows
Packers looked to replenish inventories after the holidays, and there was competition on the limited supply of cows on offer. Compared to the end of December, butcher cow prices are $6-$9 per cwt. higher. Last week D2s averaged $93.75 and D3s averaged $84.50 per cwt. Over the past month, packers have allocated more hours than usual to D grade slaughter. For the month of December, western Canadian cow slaughter is the largest since 2019.
January is traditionally a tough month for the butcher bull market. On a monthly basis in 15 of the past 15 years, first half of the year price lows have occurred in January. That aside, butcher bull prices started the year on a positive note, gaining $7 per cwt. since late December and are trading at the highest point since October.
With cold temperatures in the second half of December, some producers did not ship cows to town. These cows are expected to hit the market in early January. There could be a rather large flush over the next few weeks, but supplies are expected to moderate quickly.
Light feeder trade
With only 1,700 head of cattle trading from Jan. 2-4, sale volumes were too light to establish an accurate trading range and an average price, but the market tone was steady to a little stronger compared to the end of December.
Since October, northern U.S. feedlots have had a cost of gain advantage over western Canadian feedlots. Even so, this did not translate into higher Canadian feeder cattle exports during the fourth quarter. Canadian feeder exports to the U.S. have been limited over the past three months as Canadian calf and feeder prices trade at a premium to the U.S. market. The first quarter of the new year is traditionally when we see the largest Canadian feeder export volumes of the year.
Last week Alberta-Saskatchewan steers heavier than 900 pounds trading via electronics for immediate delivery were reported from $232-$243 per cwt. with a weighted average price of $238.78 per cwt. based at 941 lb. Prices are roughly $35-$40 per cwt. higher than a year ago.
U.S. cutouts rise
In U.S. beef trade, cutouts rallied to begin 2023, with Choice up one percent to US$281.63 per cwt. from the previous week and Select up 2.5 per cent to 256.95.
