Nevil Speer

December 27, 2012

1 Min Read
Industry At A Glance: Branded Beef Sales

The U.S. beef industry has undergone some significant changes during the past 10 years. One of the most important aspects of that transition has included an increased focus on meeting consumer preferences across a variety of attributes. That emphasis has given rise to a large number of branded programs to meet that demand, a reality illustrated by the graph below. It depicts branded-product boxed beef sales (the USDA designation includes both lower and upper Choice) in proportion of total wholesale beef volume.

The relative share of branded sales was relatively flat for about six years (2003 through 2008). However, the relative proportion of branded product in the marketplace has steadily grown in recent years (even in the face of the financial crisis). Sales volume established a new mark in August (15%) and the running average is nearly double that of just a few years ago.  

branded beef numbers

That has important implications for the industry. The primary question within that discussion revolves around tightening beef supplies. As such, will the industry trend plateau and/or even reverse in the near future? Or does the current trend signify even more growth in the years ahead? And if there is growth, does that mean increasingly committed supply chains to source product for these programs? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.

About the Author(s)

Nevil Speer

Nevil Speer serves as an industry consultant and is based in Bowling Green, KY.

Nevil Speer has extensive experience and involvement with the livestock and food industry including various service and consultation projects spanning such issues as market competition, business and economic implications of agroterrorism, animal identification, assessment of price risk and market volatility on the producer segment, and usage of antibiotics in animal agriculture.
 
Dr. Speer writes about many aspects regarding agriculture and the food industry with regular contribution to BEEF and Feedstuffs.  He’s also written several influential industry white papers dealing with issues such as changing business dynamics in the beef complex, producer decision-making, and country-of-origin labeling.
 
He serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Animal Agriculture.
 
Dr. Speer holds both a PhD in Animal Science and a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

Contact him at [email protected].

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