February 2

Leather and Hide Weekly

As the Biden Administration works to set its agenda for the next few years, LHCA remains at the forefront of policy discussions in Washington impacting the U.S. hide, skin and leather industry. In recent days, LHCA has sent letters supporting multiple nominations for key Cabinet posts with jurisdiction over hides, skins and leather, including President Biden's picks for Agriculture Secretary and U.S. Trade Representative. Also, LHCA continues to monitor shipping logistics challenges affecting U.S. hides, skins and leather exports, in particular, and U.S. agriculture exports, more broadly. Plus, LHCA's Real Leather. Stay Different. Global Student Design Competition is entering its dynamic final stages in Italy, after COVID-related disruptions caused a months-long delay in the contest. More on these and other topics below.

 

cattle

 

Weekly Hides and Skins Stats 

  • Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending January 21, 2021, were 321,900 pieces and net sales of wet blues were 131,800 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 366,000 and of wet blues were 141,000. 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 653,000 last week, down 0.6% from the previous week. Total cattle slaughter in 2021 is 2,682,000 head, down 7.1% from the same period in 2020. See more.
  • USDA AMS Major Packer Hide Price Report provided prices for six types of U.S. hides at six price points with a spread of $12.00 for branded southwest cows to $38.50 for butt branded steers.  See more.

Industry Updates

student_competition_international

  • LHCA congratulates Randy Geist on his well-deserved retirement from JBS USA. Randy dedicated 45 years to the industry, during which he played an integral role in growing JBS USA's byproducts business to one of the largest in the country. Randy has always been a fierce advocate for the industry, and LHCA thanks him for his willingness to share his knowledge and expertise over the years. While Randy will continue to support JBS in an advisory capacity moving forward, please join LHCA in wishing him a restful and joyful retirement.  
  • APLF's virtual meeting is entering its final week, as exhibitors and buyers gather online in the Greater China, India and Africa/Middle East regions. LHCA Vice President for China/Asia Jane Li and Associate Director of International Programs Michael Schumpp provided updates on the U.S. leather industry and discussed LHCA's activities in several webinars across the multi-week program. As a reminder, this virtual APLF event does not replace the annual trade show, which will take place July 5-7, 2021, in Hong Kong. To register to attend the virtual event, click here. Webinar registration is available here.   

Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.

italian_design

 

The 2020 Real Leather. Stay Different. Global Student Design Competition has entered its final stages in Italy, as judges have selected 23 impressive finalists from an extremely strong field of entrants. COVID delayed last year's contest in Italy, but the finalists are now tasked with making prototypes of their creations. Winners will be celebrated at an awards ceremony scheduled to take place in March during Lineappelle, Milan's famous international leather fair. This week, we are spotlighting one of the design competition's participants, Lorenzo Castano, whose designs consist of a collection of leather bags inspired by natural and organic materials, and feature wood along with autumnal tones, such as browns, red and yellows. Check out his jaw-dropping designs here. Get the latest news from Real Leather. Stay Different. here. And, don't forget to:

 

lorenzo_entry

 

Other News

  • LHCA joined more than 100 leading U.S. food and agriculture organizations in calling for the swift confirmation of Katherine Tai to serve as U.S. Trade Representative in the Biden Administration. In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, the signatories cite Tai's qualifications and demonstrated ability to build bipartisan support for trade policies, as well as her experience in opening foreign markets and reducing barriers for U.S. food and agriculture workers and exporters. Tai's nomination requires approval by the U.S. Senate. Read the letter here.
  • LHCA joined a multi-association letter of more than 165 organizations in urging the 117th Congress to resolve ongoing trade disputes and to extend Section 301 tariff exclusions. "As the 117th Congress considers bold new measures to address the ongoing public health and economic crises, we urge Members to examine closely the negative impact that tariffs have caused to American families, American workers, and American businesses over the last sever years and consider a thorough study of whether they have met their stated objectives," the organizations write in the letter. Learn more here. 
  • Transportation issues continue to afflict the U.S. agriculture sector, as shipping carriers have rejected U.S. agricultural export containers worth hundreds of millions of dollars. These carriers have instead opted to send empty containers back to China to be filled with more profitable Chinese exports. This has prompted the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) to launch an investigation into the matter to determine whether carriers refusing U.S. export cargo constitutes a violation of the Shipping Act. Read more. 

Monthly Data

  • The Monthly Livestock Slaughter Report is now available. December 2020 cattle slaughter totaled 2.78 million head, up 1 percent from December 2019. Get a summary of the data here. 
  • Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market as of January 1, 2021, totaled 12 million head. The inventory was slightly above January 1, 2020. Read the report 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.