Markets saw a big drop in the daily Choice cutout, but that does not mean that Memorial Day will not be a very big grilling weekend. Instead, make sure to pay attention to the the tremendous out-front sales for Choice rib and loin steak products. Continuous weeks of tremendous out-front sales have loaded the retail shelves up ahead of time and pushed the Choice rib and loin price graph much higher earlier and faster than normal. They both topped out higher than last year several weeks earlier, but then started the normal seasonal decline earlier also.
The daily spot Choice box beef cutout ended the week last Friday at $220.31 which was $0.80 lower compared to previous Friday, but was lower midweek, and $12 lower than the same day last year. But it did rebound a little on Monday, May 20 to $221.45 when product was ordered that could still be delivered prior to the Memorial Day weekend. As previously mentioned, it had been over $234 the last week in April which was higher than last year’s top, so it has dropped $14 in a little over three weeks when prices normally increase prior to Memorial Day. However, retail stores had ordered many steak items ahead of time which actually helps them prepare for advertised grilling sales.
