April 14th

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. Thank you to the members who participated in the Spring Board of Directors meeting survey. As a result of your feedback, LHCA has decided to postpone the meeting, originally slated for later this month, until either May or June. Also, the 2020 APLF show in Hong Kong has been postponed until March 2021. More on these and other topics below.

We hope you stay safe and healthy.

 

cows

 

Weekly Hides and Skins Stats 

  • Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending April 2 were 858,800 pieces and of wet blue were 129,300 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 402,100 and of wet blue were 118,700. China was the largest buyer of cured hides and Italy was the largest destination for wet blue. See more. 
  • U.S. Cattle Slaughter was 536,000 last week, down 14.4 percent from the previous week. Total cattle slaughter in 2020 is 9,190,000, 1.3 percent above 2019 levels. See more.
  • USDA AMS Major Packer Hide Price Report provided prices for eight types of U.S. hides at 10 price points with a spread of $1 for branded cows to $16 for branded steers.  See more.

Industry Updates

  • Due to the continued uncertainty and escalation of COVID-19 around the country, LHCA is postponing its Spring Board of Directors Meeting, which is currently scheduled to take place April 23-24 via teleconference/webinar. LHCA will monitor the situation over the coming weeks and will likely choose a time in May or June to hold the meeting via teleconference/webinar. LHCA will announce a new date and time for the meeting once we have a better idea about how this situation is unfolding. 
  • LHCA is collecting stories from members that are taking steps to make a difference in response to COVID-19 -- companies that are producing facemasks, 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 Stephen Sothmann, Michael Schumpp and Kevin Latner.   
  • 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 regarding face coverings, employee screening and positive test result protocol, among other pertinent resources.    
  • This year's APLF-Leather, Materials+ and Fashion Access show, which had been postponed until June 1-3, in Hong Kong, has been cancelled due to continued concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The next edition of the APLF show will take place March 30-April 1, 2021, in Hong Kong. View the announcement here.
  • LHCA President Stephen Sothmann will present "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.

 

cows

 

Other Trade News

  • The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) opened Fact Finding Investigation No. 29 to identify operational solutions to cargo delivery system challenges related to COVID-19. The FMC is requesting comments to inform its work. Comments should be submitted to ff29@fmc.gov. More here.  
  • The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued interim guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists assigned to review required import information for animal products and by-products. The guidance permits CBP's agriculture specialists to accept all import documents -- including veterinary certificates -- that are uploaded to the Automated Commercial Environment-Document Image System regardless of disease status of the exporting country. APHIS will continue to require original hard copy veterinary health certificates under certain conditions. The guidance is effective for shipments arriving through May 16, 2020. More information is available here.  
  • The National Veterinary Services Laboratories on April 8 confirmed HPAI in a commercial turkey meat premises in South Carolina. As a result, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) immediately stopped endorsing certificates for certain products, destined for the European Union, derived from poultry, including animal byproducts for the manufacture of pet food and for purposes other than human or animal consumption, along with raw materials derived from poultry for the manufacture of gelatin/collagen for human consumption. In the meantime, APHIS is working with its Regionalization and Poultry Programs staff, to encourage the EU to publish a regulation amendment to zone the U.S. to allow trade from other parts of the country -- namely, outside South Carolina or the affected area in South Carolina -- to continue. Read the notice here. 

Monthly Drought Monitor - April 9, 2020

 

U.S. drought Map

This U.S. drought monitor week saw drought expansion across portions of the South (Louisiana, Mississippi) and Southeast (Florida), where warm and dry conditions prevailed during the past 90-day period causing declines in soil moisture and streamflow levels. In Texas, significant rainfall across parts of the state led to improvement in drought-related conditions in South Texas and the Hill Country, while areas along the Texas Gulf Coast missed the heavier accumulations. In the northern Plains, record-breaking cold affected the region, including eastern portions of Wyoming and Montana. Further West, another series of Pacific storms delivered beneficial rainfall to coastal areas and valley locations in California and Oregon while significant mountain snowfall was observed across the Sierra Nevada, the Trinity Mountains of northern California, the Cascades and the northern Rockies. For the month of March, the contiguous U.S. experienced its 30th wettest on record, as well as its 10th warmest, including record warmth observed in areas of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. 

Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.

london fashion week

 

The Real Leather. Stay Different. Global Student Design Competition continues to heat up with this entry from Shen Yiting. Her striking submission boasts an array of bold colors and eclectic outfits in her quest to nab the top prize. 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.