Activity in the hide market on Monday was limited with a small number of sales reported from carryover weekend business. Prices were mixed with the Jacobsen Hide Index up $0.31 for the day. Native cows were down $1.50 with one processor sale for $47. Following a couple weeks of back-and-forth tussling over price increases, most people spent the day working on their requirements, seeking information and posturing for the upcoming trading.

Trading activity was light on Tuesday with a modest number of sales reported. Prices were mixed, falling within the previous weeks’ levels. One source indicated they were not expecting to see many offers from suppliers. People in the trade were divergent in their outlooks with some predicting the market would be steady and a few forecasting firm. Most were in agreement, however, that volume would be light, in part due to the Chinese holiday.

The market was still relatively quiet by Wednesday with several tactics being employed to manoeuvre hide prices to a desired level. This of course depended on whether you were packer, trader or tanner and from which perspective you were trying to leverage. On the supply end, offers this week were limited with some suppliers holding back offer lists. A few were offering up from the previous week and some were holding steady. Buyers were generally holding back, but there a few bids were reported at lower prices and some remaining steady. With the Chinese away on holiday, the overall expectations for the hide market volume were low.

The market was extremely quiet on Wednesday with limited trading. One source reported that email traffic was down considerably. Even with low volume, there was a level of confidence with some suppliers as they maintained that the market was steady to firm. With so many people out or travelling to attend the US Hide, Skin, & Leather Association (USHSLA) meeting in Chicago (October 7-8), the tone in the market was more in limbo than either bullish or bearish.

With many in the hides industry at the USHSLA conference or enjoying the Chinese holiday, there was no activity reported on Thursday. Those in the office on Thursday afternoon were more likely to be discussing their golf games or NFL picks than talking about hide prices.

There was little trading reported on Friday either. N HNDC and BS were reported to have traded and that was the sum of the action. Much like Thursday, most folks were away from their desks; en route home or enjoying the golf course.

Winter weight changes

The weight change from summer to winter on October 1 and the resultant clean sheet afforded a good opportunity to ruminate on some of the changes in the hide market over the past year. Steer hides and heifers, as reflected by the Jacobsen Hide Index on October 1 was $68.68, up $20.77 or 43% from last year. More specifically, HNS on average at $71.50 were up $22.50 for the year, or just over 44%.

Cow hides during the past year saw a greater price increase than steer and heifers, resulting in a narrowing of the price gap between the two selections. Using native steers and cows to make this comparison, NHNC on October 1 were $48.50, up $18.50, or 61%, from 52 weeks ago compared with the 44% increase for steers. So far this year, the price difference between HNS and NHNC is $23 with the steers’ trading price 47.5% greater than the native cow. In 2009 the difference between the two was $21 but the steer trading price was 70% greater than native cows.

While enthusiasm persisted in the US hide market during the week ending October 1, in other regions hide and leather suppliers were not clicking their heels. In Brazil, Australia and Europe for instance, sources report the hide/leather markets at best are quiet but steady, and at worst poor and getting worse. While the weakening US$ has helped US hide export sales, pundits maintain the stronger AU$, euro and Real are making it more difficult for export sales in those regions.

This shift in fortunes might suggest that the driver of the recent spike in interest in US hides had a lot to do with currency. If overall demand were the main driver in the surge in the American hide market, then you would expect interest for other hide sources to also pick up, at least to some degree. For now, this has not happened.

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