March 9th

Leather and Hide Weekly

 

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As the U.S. Senate nears approval of President Biden's U.S. Trade Representative, the Administration recently released its 2021 trade agenda, which focuses on labor, equity, climate and enforcement. Along with COVID-19 relief and economic revitalization, the Administration intends to prioritize agricultural trade and aims to pursue a multilateral approach to addressing China's policies and practices. Meanwhile, LHCA remains actively engaged in efforts to address the ongoing financial and logistical harm caused to the U.S. hide, skin, and leather industry as a result of unreasonable practices by ocean carriers and marine terminal operators, primarily at West Coast ports. Also, APHIS recently issued a pair of announcements regarding exporting to the United Kingdom and the European Union. Plus, the latest monthly hides and skins export trade data is now available. More on this topic and others below.

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Weekly Hides and Skins Stats 

  • Net sales of cured cattle hides reported for the period ending February 25, 2021, were 359,700 pieces and net sales of wet blues were 75,700 pieces. Reported shipments of cured hides were 392,100 and of wet blues were 94,200. China was the largest buyer of cured hides and Italy was the largest destination for wet blues. See more. For historical data, click here. 
  • U.S. Cattle Slaughter was 665,000 last week, a decrease of 0.2 percent from the previous week. Total cattle slaughter in 2021 is 5,829,000 head, down 3.5 percent 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 seven price points with a spread of $14.00 for branded southwest cows to $31.50 for Colorado branded steers.  See more.

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Industry Updates

  • Thank you to the LHCA members who participated in last week's virtual town hall to discuss ongoing, and worsening, issues at ports and actions by ocean carriers that are hindering U.S. hides, skin and leather exports. LHCA continues to engage the White House, Congress and U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others, on this issue, but convened the town hall to gather input from members. LHCA members who missed the meeting, but would like to provide details about the impact of this crisis on their business, should contact Stephen Sothmann. Following the town hall, LHCA member Kelly Meine of Union Hide Company offered his opinion on the current ports crisis by sharing a presentation he delivered recently.
  • As we previously reported, LHCA in February joined agriculture organizations in sending a letter to President Biden and other key Administration officials detailing concerns with, and urging assistance to address, actions by ocean carriers and marine terminal operators that are hindering U.S. agriculture trade. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of more than 20 Senators recently wrote Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chairman Michael Khouri to express concern over increasing reports of ocean carriers denying carriage for U.S. agricultural commodities and urged prompt action. A separate bipartisan letter from members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Coast Guard and Marine Subcommittee echoed concerns raised in the aforementioned Senate letter. 
  • The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a slight change to the export process for hides and skins shipped to Great Britain (GB) following its departure from the European Union (EU). APHIS informed industry that any updates made to U.S. facility registration information in the EU's TRACES system post-Brexit might not be reflected in GB's separate facility list, which was unveiled in January 2021. APHIS will continue to sign health certificates for product destined to GB based on TRACES information, though U.S. exporters should check with their importers in GB, prior to shipment, to prevent any issues or delays upon arrival. The change is captured here in the IREGS.
  • The EU will soon -- likely in April -- update the TRACES system, making it more difficult to change basic information about U.S. facilities in the database, including names, addresses and other similar details. APHIS is therefore requesting all U.S. facilities approved for export to the EU through TRACES check with their local APHIS VS Office to ensure that the facility's name and other relevant information are consistent on all documents required for export to the EU. This information must match exactly the facility's details in TRACES.  

Latest Updates from Real Leather. Stay Different.

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Our latest Real Leather. Stay Different. blog post traces the history and craftsmanship of saddles, which date back to 800 BC. What started as simple pads strapped to the backs of horses soon evolved into the modern saddle we know today -- and leather featured prominently even in these earliest designs. It's clear our ancestors understood leather's durability and comfort could not be matched. Check out the illuminating post here. Get the latest news from Real Leather. Stay Different. here. And, don't forget to:

 

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Monthly Trade Data

U.S. hides and skins January 2021 export data is now available. Get a summary of the data here. 

  • Cured cattle hides exports rose 17 percent in volume, but declined 8 percent in value compared to 2020. Download the data here.
  • Wet blue shipments decreased 21 percent in volume and 25 percent in value. Vietnam was the largest buyer by value, totaling more than $7.7 million.
  • Pig skin exports decreased 50 percent in volume and 34 percent in value compared to 2020. Download the data here.

 

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Other News

  • The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative last week delivered President Joe Biden's 2021 Trade Policy Agenda and 2020 Annual Report to Congress, detailing a comprehensive trade policy in support of the Administration's effort to help the U.S. recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and spur economic growth. The report outlines nine key priorities, including pursuing a worker centric trade policy, addressing China's coercive and unfair economic trade practices and implementing strong environmental standards. A fact sheet summarizing the report is available here.
  • The U.S. and United Kingdom last week issued a joint statement announcing a four-month suspension of tariffs related to the ongoing Boeing-Airbus dispute. The U.S. suspended tariffs effective March 4, and both sides are aiming to reach a negotiated settlement. The U.S. and European Union also agreed to suspend tariffs on both aircraft and non-aircraft products as negotiators work to reach a comprehensive, durable solution to this dispute.  

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.