From a month-over-month (MoM) perspective, the most recent cold storage figures through the end of May, generally fall in line with the seasonally anticipated norm. At 376.1 million pounds, total inventory levels through the end of May advanced significantly by 43.6 million pounds or 13.1% from April. This compares to a 5-year average uptick of just under 7% during this same period. When turning to the year-over-year (YoY) comparisons, last month’s holdings stood 3.7% or 14.6 million pounds shy of May 2021’s figures. This scenario also extends the consecutive YoY downtrend which has remained firmly in place since April ’19. Breaking the cumulative total down by category, tom holdings moved north in May by 19.4% against the historically anticipated rise of 18.8%. The YoY figures also trended upward; realizing a 3% increase from this time last year. At 134.5 million pounds, toms in the freezer currently reside at the third highest seasonal level in the past decade. Frozen hens follow along a similar, albeit enhanced, path as their tom brethren...

To continue reading, please visit COMTELL. Get full, premium analysis content from Urner Barry on the beef, pork, poultry, egg and seafood markets with COMTELL, the premier platform for commodity intelligence. Don't have COMTELL yet? Call 800-932-0617 to learn how you can gain access.

Dylan Hughes
Urner Barry
1-732-240-5330 ext 286
dhughes@urnerbarry.com