Market News & Headlines >> March Feedlot Placements to Rise Sharply Vs. Pandemic Level

The April 1 feedlot inventory is thought to have been more than 6% larger than a year earlier following a big jump of roughly one-third in March feedlot placements compared to March 2020, when placements plunged amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Ahead of Friday afternoon’s monthly USDA Cattle-on-Feed report, trade estimates of the April 1 feedlot inventory average 106.1% of a year earlier in a range from 105.0-107.5%, according to a Reuters News Service survey of 11 analysts. At the average of trade estimates, the April 1 feedlot inventory would equal 11.986 million head and would be the largest for the date in the current USDA data series going back to 1996, 689,000 head above last year.

Pre-report estimates of March feedlot placements average 133.7% of a year earlier in a range from 128%-143.4%. At the average of trade estimates, March placements would equal 2.082 billion head and would be the largest since 2017, and the second largest on record in the current USDA data series.

Trade expectations for March feedlot marketings average 101.1% of a year earlier in a range from 100.5%-101.6%. At the average of trade estimates, March marketings would equal 2.032 million head and would be the largest for the month since 2000 and the second largest in the current data series.