This cattle market information is selected from the weekly report from Canfax, a division of the Canadian Cattle 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 market declines
The fed market continues to grind lower, dropping nearly $10 per hundredweight over the past month. December has been disappointing for the fed market with new second half-of-the-year lows established last week.
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Based on Canfax Trends data, following seven to eight months of positive returns for the cattle feeder, margins turned negative in December. All three western Canadian packers procured cattle, but competition on the cash market was disappointing. In some instances, packers were limiting the number of cattle they were buying from each producer. Sale volumes were light and dressed sales were reported from $368-$370 per cwt. delivered.
Over the past few weeks, heavyweight carcass discounts have been reported from 1,050 to 1,100 pounds. Feedlots are not current, as carcass weights are record large.
In Ontario, dressed sales were reported at $380 per cwt. delivered, $5-$8 per cwt. lower than the previous week. Cattle were being booked for the week of Jan. 1 delivery. On a cash-to-cash basis, Ontario fed prices are at slight premium to the Nebraska market. Ontario fed prices are the strongest in North America.
In the United States, dressed sales in Iowa and Nebraska were from US$266-$270 per cwt., $1-$2 per cwt. lower than the previous week. Live sales in Nebraska ranged from $168-$170 per cwt., steady to $2 per cwt. weaker.
U.S. beef exports for October were 20.5 percent lower than last year. Less beef was shipped to Japan, South Korea, China and the Philippines. Year to date, beef exports are down 15 percent compared to last year. In October, beef imports were 17 percent larger than last year. Imports continue to be strong from Australia and New Zealand.
Cow prices steady
Alberta D2 cows were steady with the previous week at $128.88 per cwt. D3 cows were also steady at $111.50 per cwt., and rail grade cows moved sideways at $250-$260 per cwt. Slaughter bulls rallied nearly $3 per cwt. higher to $146.42.
Ontario D2 cows have moved lower for the last four weeks, softening another five percent last week to $116.91 per cwt. D3 cows followed suit, also softening five percent to $97.04. In comparison to Ontario cull cows, considerable price support was noted for western Canadian cull cows over the last few weeks.
Two weeks ago, Alberta D2 cows were at a $7 per cwt. premium to Ontario D2 cows. Last week that premium widened to $12 per cwt.
Year to date, 470,725 cows have been slaughtered, up eight percent from last year.
Last week’s cow slaughter volume, at 11,313 head, was 11 percent lower than last year as the cow run starts to slow. Bull slaughter is 26 percent higher than a year ago at 19,125 head.
Feeders under pressure
Feeder cattle were under pressure last week with smaller lot sizes. Average steer prices were down $1.64 per cwt. and heifers were $3.68 per cwt. lower. Steers 500-800 lb. were $2-$6 per cwt. softer, with same weight heifer calves moving lower, in tandem with their steer counterparts.
Heavier weight steers were mixed and 800-900 lb. steers were $3 per cwt. softer, but steers heavier than 900 lb. were $7 per cwt. higher.
Auction volumes across Alberta totalled 23,944 head, down 24 percent from last week and down 34 percent from last year. Year to date, auction volumes totalled 1,799,460 head, up nine percent from last year.
In Ontario, steers 400-500 lb. climbed $23 per cwt. higher, 600-700 lb. heifers were $3 per cwt. higher and heifers heavier than 800 lb. were up $6 per cwt. Prices ranged from $1-$15 per cwt. lower on most other weights. Light heifers were a significant $28 per cwt. lower. Weekly auction volumes were 19 percent higher than last year.
Last week, Alberta 450 lb. steers were priced at a $67 per cwt. premium to Ontario steers and 550 lb. steers were at a $29 per cwt. premium, but 950 lb. steers were at a $13 per cwt. discount.
U.S. cutouts rebound
In U.S. beef trade, Choice cutouts rebounded, recovering some of the previous week’s losses. Select cutouts remain under pressure, driving the Choice-Select spread counter-seasonally wider. For the week ending Dec. 15, Choice cutouts were one percent higher than the previous week at US$292.32 per cwt. Select was steady at $258.26 per cwt.
