Market News & Headlines >> Feedlot Placements, Marketings Seen Down Sharply

USDA is expected to report that placements of cattle in U.S. feedlots during April were down nearly 23% from a year earlier, while marketings were down nearly 27% amid COVID-19 related slaughter plant closures and low fed cattle prices. 

Pre-report trade estimates of April feedlot placements average 77.1% of a year earlier in a range from 71.8%-86.7%, according to a survey of eight analysts by Dow Jones Newswires. If April placements come in at the average of trade estimates, they would total 1.420 million head, down 422,000 head from a year earlier and the lowest on record in the current USDA data series since 1996. 

Trade expectations for April feedlot marketings average 74.7% of a year earlier in a range from 70.0%-82.7%. If April marketings come in at the average of trade estimates, they would total 1.440 million head, down 488,000 head from a year earlier and easily the lowest on record in USDA data dating back to 1996. 

Trade estimates of the May 1 U.S. feedlot inventory average 95.0% of a year earlier in a range from 94.1-95.7%. If the May 1 feedlot inventory comes in at the average of trade estimates, it would be 11.217 million head, down 591,000 head from a year earlier and the lowest in three years.