January 24, 2013

As of December 31, 2012, total frozen poultry supplies were up 5% from the previous month and up 16% from a year ago while total stocks of chicken were up 1% from the previous month and up 8% from last year.

This is according to USDA's monthly Cold Storage report.

Total pounds of turkey in freezers were up 16% from last month and up 40% from December 31, 2011. Total red meat supplies in freezers were up 2% from the previous month and up 9% from last year.

Total pounds of beef in freezers were up 5% from the previous month and up 2% from last year. Frozen pork supplies were down 1% from the previous month but up 14% from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 55% from last month but down 11% from last year.

J.P.Morgan analyst Ken Goldman said the report showed continuity to show manageable levels of meat inventories overall, with beef levels near their 10-year average, pork well above average (bearish for prices) and chicken below (bullish for prices).