Source:  Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 12/24/10

Chicken stocks in cold storage rose by 16.4 percent year-over-year, the biggest jump in any month since August, 2008.

“The report illustrates that cold storage is increasing — especially for chicken — a generally bearish indicator for future prices,” Ken Goldman, equity analyst for JP Morgan, wrote in a note to investors.
“We had expected pork to rise more but the chicken and beef increases are not helpful to pricing,” Goldman wrote.

Total red meat supplies in freezers were up 2 percent from the previous month but down slightly from last year. Frozen pork supplies were down 3 percent from the previous month, and also down 3 percent from last year. Stocks of pork bellies were up 62 percent from last month but down 16 percent from last year.

Total frozen poultry supplies on Nov. 30, 2010, were down 18 percent from the previous month but up 4 percent from a year ago. Total stocks of chicken were up 4 percent from the previous month and up 16 percent from last year. Total pounds of turkey in freezers were down 57 percent from last month and down 28 percent from Nov. 30, 2009.

Goldman noted that the increases in cold storage supplies were mostly in leg quarter, thighs and drumsticks. Wing stocks were up 46.6 percent compared with the levels a year ago.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.