HIGHLIGHTS
- Just halfway into the year, U.S. beef and pork exports have reached record highs, according to data released by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).
- USMEF has a combination of things: we have container shortages, we have chassis shortages to move the containers, we have shortages of labor, of truckers to truck the containers.”
FULL ARTICLE
Just halfway into the year, U.S. beef and pork exports have reached record highs, according to data released by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). Beef exports are 6% better in volume and 15% better in value compared to the record year of 2018. Pork exports are up 1% in volume and 7% from last year’s records.
The numbers are better than ever, but the U.S. could see even more business if it could get its hands on more vessels to ship around the world.
“We have a long-standing reputation as a very reliable global supplier,” said Dan Halstrom, USMEF’s chairman and CEO. “And this current issue, which has been going on for at least five or six months, is a very real threat. We have a combination of things: we have container shortages, we have chassis shortages to move the containers, we have shortages of labor, of truckers to truck the containers.”
There are also global issues that are connected to news month after month that the U.S. trade deficit hits new records. As of this spring, the overall deficit exceeded $70 billion. The freight rate for shipping containers from North America to Asia is 14,000 USD/container, which is 3 to 4 times higher than 4000 USD/container when going from Asia to North America.
Instead of taking time to fill up containers here, Halstrom says, empty containers go right back to places like China at a much faster rate. Therefore, a large amount of meat waits to be frozen in the US instead of being loaded and shipped to international customers. This happens thousands of times a week, drastically reducing exports.
Meanwhile, the demand for beef from customers such as China, Korea, and Japan increased sharply. In response, USMEF is working to provide international customers with the products they expect, but labor shortages in the meat industry continue to put additional pressure on the industry and force the company to make new innovations.
Phan Quyen
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