January 5

Leather and Hide Weekly

Happy New Year! LHCA hopes you had a joyous, healthy, and safe holiday, and wishes you all the best in the year ahead. LHCA President Stephen Sothmann recently sent a letter to members detailing the Association's achievements in 2020. Also, on January 14, LHCA will launch its new, free webinar series with a discussion about Mindhive, which deploys solutions that bring greater efficiency and transparency to operational processes at tanneries, and Leather Naturally's METCHA digital marketing campaign, which aims to promote leather's beauty to younger generations and is aligned with LHCA's global marketing activities. Plus, China announced lower import tariffs for certain hide, leather and leather processing chemical products. More on these and other topics below.

 

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Weekly Hides and Skins Stats 

  • Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending December 24, 2020, were 166,900 pieces and net sales of wet blues were 123,400 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 332,300 and of wet blues were 161,100. China was the largest buyer of cured hides and Vietnam was the largest destination for wet blues. See more. For historical data, click here.  
  • U.S. Cattle Slaughter was 515,000 last week, up 22.9 percent from the previous week. See more.
  • USDA AMS Major Packer Hide Price Report provided prices for five types of U.S. hides at five price points with a spread of $11.50 for branded southwest cows to $25.50 for Colorado branded steers.  See more.

Industry Updates

  • LHCA President Stephen Sothmann penned a letter detailing some of LHCA's principal accomplishments in 2020, and thanked members for their contributions and support. Sothmann underscored the successful merger of the U.S. Hide, Skin and Leather Association and Leather Industries of America, which yielded in LHCA a unified, cohesive voice to advocate on behalf of the U.S. hide and leather industry. The letter also highlighted LHCA's promotional campaigns, market development activities and leadership in strategically important forums. To read the letter, click here.   
  • On December 23, 2020, China's Ministry of Finance announced lower import tariffs on products in high domestic demand, including medical equipment, raw materials for baby powder, high-tech equipment and certain commodities. Ten products related to hides, leather and leather processing chemicals are subject to the tariff change, which took effect January 1, 2021. The China Leather Industry Association has listed the products subject to the tariff change here.  
  • LHCA has recently learned about efforts by external actors who are either impersonating association staff or attempting to sell association resources to members. LHCA requests you reach out to us directly if you suspect you are the recipient of these phishing attacks.     

LHCA Webinar Series

  • To get a strong start to 2021, LHCA is kicking off the year with a NEW webinar series on January 14 at 4 p.m. ET.  The LHCA webinar series, which will occur in regular intervals throughout the year, seeks to connect LHCA members and stakeholders with the latest news, technology and information available in the industry. Members and guests are highly encouraged to participate in the FREE webinars. 
  • The first webinar session to be held on January 14th at 4 p.m. ET will feature Mindhive and Leather Naturally. Mindhive deploys solutions that bring greater efficiency and transparency to operational processes at tanneries. Mindhive further improves operational workflows with its traceability offering, enabling tanneries to offer full transparency, reshape their operations and optimize processes within. The webinar will also highlight Leather Naturally's METCHA digital platform and global marketing campaign, which covers a wide range of news and developments related to leather in the fashion, art and lifestyle sectors. Leather Naturally launched METCHA, which now reaches 40 million people per month, in 2019, to showcase the value and importance of leather as a material, making use of prominent social media channels to connect with younger generations. Leather Naturally's presentation will cover key achievements of METCHA to date and will detail the campaign's plans to continue promoting leather to a global audience. Featured speakers include Fernando Bellese, chief sustainability officer at PrimeAsia Leather Corporation; Neil Martin, CEO at Mindhive; and Laura Martin, marketing manager at Mindhive. 
  • Don't miss out! For more information and to register, click here.    

Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.

100-natural-you

 

Are you struggling to figure out the right New Year's resolution, or are you simply overwhelmed by the options? You're in luck because we have an idea that will save your wardrobe and your wallet, while helping you cut waste. This year, resolve to take better care of your favorite leather pieces with tips from our Ultimate Leather Care Guide. Get the latest news from Real Leather. Stay Different. here. And, don't forget to:

 

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Other News

  • The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in 2020 published an interpretive rule providing guidance to industry regarding how the reasonableness of detention and demurrage regulations and procedures would be assessed. Since the rule's issuance, the FMC has received feedback from shippers and other parties critical of the level of compliance exhibited by carriers and marine terminal operators. FMC is therefore seeking examples of injurious treatment to facilitate further action. More information is available here.
  • Following months of negotiations, the United Kingdom and the European Union reached a post-Brexit agreement on trade ahead of the December 31, 2020 deadline. The agreement maintains duty-free and quota-free trade in all goods that comply with the appropriate rules of origin requirements, and covers not only trade in goods and services, but also investment, competition and data protection, among other topics. Read more. 

Monthly Data

  • The Monthly Livestock Slaughter report is now available. November 2020 cattle slaughter totaled 2.7 million head, down 3 percent from November 2019. Get a summary of the data here. 

 

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.