February frozen meat stocks signal strong demand

USDA’s Cold Storage Report showed frozen pork stocks declined contra-seasonally during February, while beef inventories fell more than average. The data suggests meat demand, especially for pork, remained strong.

Beef inventories at the end of February totaled 442.8 million lbs., down 28.5 million lbs. from January. The five-year average was a 12.9-million-lb. decline during the month. Beef inventories dropped 58.0 million lbs. (11.6%) from year-ago and were 59.8 million lbs. (11.9%) less than the five-year average.

Pork stocks dropped 6.8 million lbs. during February to 456.5 million lbs., whereas the five-year average was a 29.7-million-lb. increase for the month. Pork inventories fell 65.1 million lbs. (12.5%) from February 2023 and were 93.0 million lbs. (16.9%) less than the five-year average.

Total poultry stocks declined 12.4 million lbs. from January to 1.121 billion lbs. and were 64.7 million lbs. (5.5%) below the five-year average. Chicken breast meat inventories dropped 1.9 million lbs. during February and 11.2 million lbs. (4.6%) from last year’s record to 233.5 million pounds.