Market News & Headlines >> July 1 Feedlot Inventory Up Nearly 2%

Friday afternoon’s monthly USDA Cattle-on-Feed report pegged the July 1 feedlot inventory above the average of trade expectations with June placements coming in toward the high end of expectations and feedlot marketings remaining slow.

USDA pegged the U.S. feedlot inventory as of July 1 at 101.9% of a year earlier compared with trade estimates that averaged 101.4% of a year earlier in a range from 99.9%-102.2%. In actual numbers, at 10.236 million head, the July 1 feedlot inventory was up 193,000 head from a year earlier.

June placements of cattle on feed came in at 100.9% of year earlier compared with trade estimates that averaged 99.6% of a year earlier in a wide range from 93.2%-106.3%. In actual numbers, June placements totaled 1.481 million head, 13,000 above a year earlier.

USDA put June feedlot marketings at 94.6% of a year earlier, compared with trade expectations that averaged 95.1% of a year earlier in a range from 94.1%-97.3%. In actual numbers, June marketings totaled 1.747 million head, down 100,000 from a year earlier, and were smallest on record for the month in the current USDA data set going back to 1996.

The trend toward heavier weight feedlot placement continued in June with placements of cattle weighing 800 pounds or more up 11.2% from a year earlier and placements of lightweight cattle weighing 600 pounds or less down 13.6%.