May 19th
Leather and Hide Weekly
The Leather and Hide Council of America (LHCA) continues to monitor developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and is available to support members navigating this rapidly evolving situation. President Donald Trump in recent weeks floated the idea of potentially withdrawing from the phase one U.S.-China trade deal, though he has since tempered his statements, amid declining U.S. exports and a weakening economy in the wake of COVID-19. Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation published a long-anticipated rule updating hours of service regulations for commercial motor vehicle drivers. In trade show news, the spring ANPIC show in Leon, Mexico will now take place digitally this June. More on these and other topics below.
We hope you stay safe and healthy.
Weekly Hides and Skins Stats
- Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending May 7 were 285,400 pieces and of wet blue were 32,300 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 395,300 and of wet blue were 75,400. China was the largest buyer of cured hides and Italy was the largest destination for wet blue. See more.
- U.S. Cattle Slaughter was 499,000 last week, up 10.4 percent from the previous week. Total cattle slaughter in 2020 is 11,534,000, 6.7 percent below 2019 levels. See more.
- USDA AMS Major Packer Hide Price Report provided prices for eight types of U.S. hides at seven price points with a spread of $1 for both branded cows and branded southwest cows to $24.50 for heavy native steers. See more.
- The USDA price report is a snapshot of the market. For real time hide market prices, please consult our friends at Hidenet, The Jacobsen, The Maxfield Report, or The Sauer Report.
Industry Updates
- LHCA President Stephen Sothmann will "Our Ethical Duty to Upcycle Cattle Hides from Meat Production," as part of APLF's webinar series. The presentation, which will be moderated by Hidenet's Vera Dordick, will take place June 2, 2020, at 7 a.m. ET (7 p.m. HKT). To register for the free webinar, click here.
- For the first time in the show's history, the ANPIC spring exhibition will be held digitally, June 11-12, 2020, from 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT each day. The digital platform facilitates business by promoting direct contact between buyers and suppliers. More than 170 companies have registered to participate. More information is available here.
- The North American Meat Institute continues to share guidance documents and other resources for industry on its COVID-19 response webpage. The page includes the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding face coverings, employee screening and positive test result protocol, among other pertinent resources. CDC and the Department of Labor issued guidance specific to the meat and poultry processing industry in order to facilitate ongoing operations and support the food supply, while also mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19. The guidance is available here.
- LHCA is collecting stories from members that are taking steps to make a difference in response to COVID-19 -- companies that are producing face masks, for example, or taking other actions, big or small, in the global fight against the virus. We'll share your stories in upcoming Real Leather. Stay Different. materials. To be featured, send a description of your company's efforts to Michael Schumpp.
Other Trade News
- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) last week published a final rule updating hours of service (HOS) regulations, which specify the permitted operating hours of commercial drivers. FMCSA's final rule on hours of service offers four key revisions to existing HOS rules:
- The Agency will increase safety and flexibility for the 30-minute break rule by requiring a break after eight hours of consecutive driving and allowing the break to be satisfied by a driver using on-duty, not driving status, rather than off-duty status.
- The Agency will modify the sleeper-berth exception to allow drivers to split their required 10 hours off duty into two periods: an 8/2 split, or a 7/3 split -- with neither period counting against the driver's 14-hour driving window.
- The Agency will modify the adverse driving conditions exception by two hours the maximum window during which driving is permitted.
- The Agency will change the short-haul exception available to certain commercial drivers by lengthening the drivers' maximum on-duty period from 12 to 14 hours and extending the distance limit within which the driver may operate from 100 air miles to 150 air miles.
The final rule is available here.
Monthly Drought Monitor - May 14, 2020
Light precipitation at best covered most of the 48 states, so drought deterioration was more common than improvement this past week. Less than half an inch fell on most areas across the Southeast, Great Lakes Region, central and northern Plains, Mississippi Valley, Texas, and from the Rockies to the Pacific Coast. Widespread light to moderate precipitation covered the Northeast and the central Appalachians, and a fairly broad area centered along the Ohio Valley received from a few tenths to one-half inch. Farther west, there were exceptions to the generally dry week. More than two inches of rain soaked parts of the south-central Great Plains and adjacent western Mississippi Valley, western Deep South Texas, and central Montana. The broadest area of heavy precipitation covered a solid swath from south-central Kansas through southern Missouri, where totals ranged from two to nearly four inches. Similar amounts were more scattered in a stripe from southern Oklahoma and northeastern Texas through southern Louisiana, as well as in central Montana. Isolated sites in southwestern Texas were soaked by as much as six inches of rain, but closer to two inches fell on most locales there. Elsewhere, there were a few areas of moderate precipitation from the northern High Plains into central Montana, and in orographically-favored parts of the northern Cascades.
Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.
This innovative, sleek handbag from Nendo is cut from a single sheet of leather by combining laser technology with the ancient art of origami. The Real Leather. Stay Different. Global Student Design Competition also continues to heat up in China and Taiwan. Get all your design competition news at chooserealleather.com. Plus, check out our video here showcasing the first round of competition in China.
Leather News
Each week, we will share relevant leather news below. Some of the articles may cover our products, and the industry, unfavorably, but we still believe it is important to share the different ways in which leather is presented in the media. If you find articles that you would like to see included, please send them to mschumpp@meatinstitute.org.