USHSLA warns of declining availability of US hides
The president of the US Hide, Skin and Leather Association (USHSLA) has warned that weather and climate conditions will have a big impact on the availability of US hides in the coming years, as the country battles with ongoing drought conditions.
Slaughter rates for 2014 are down about 6%, according to US Department of Agriculture, while beef production is down around 5% compared with the same period in 2013.
The April 2014 inventory of cattle and calves on feed in feedlots for future slaughter was 1% below 2013 levels at 10.9 million head, which Stephen Sothmann describes as a "significant improvement" over the much lower levels seen earlier this year.
“The supply of market ready cattle, though, or cattle that are available for slaughter in the near term, is still very small compared to year ago levels - 11% lower by some estimates,” he added. “The large drop in cow and bull slaughter levels - down an estimated 15% compared to 2013 - indicate some hide selections are more severely impacted than others by the current cattle and beef market conditions.”
Total US cattle inventory at the beginning of 2014 was 87.7 million head, down 2% from 2013 and the smallest herd size since 1951.
“Early signs of herd rebuilding are beginning to emerge, including the all-import low feed prices, but much of these efforts will depend on weather and climate conditions as we enter the summer months," added Mr Sothmann.
“If drought conditions in California and the panhandle of Texas spread to other areas of the country, the resulting spike in feed prices will likely have a negative impact on herd rebuilding. If rebuilding efforts do not take hold, the global leather industry should continue to expect reduced slaughter levels and US hide availability in the coming years.”
