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USDA reports solid December beef, pork demand

Beef and pork demand continues to be solid.

The USDA says red meat in cold storage at the start of 2026 was down 3% from the start of 2025 at 845.343 million pounds, with beef declining 4% 437.458 million pounds and pork 2% lower at 390.555 million pounds, despite higher production during December.

Consumer demand for U.S. beef is still strong, despite relatively high prices, while the competitive price of pork might be cutting into chicken demand, at least a little bit.

Chicken in cold storage was 4% larger than last year at 831.114 million pounds, due to a year-to-year rise in production and some slowdown in demand, while turkey stocks fell 25% to 165.016 million pounds even as production rose slightly, which might be a sign turkey demand is also cutting into demand for chicken. Total poultry supplies of 998.286 million pounds were 2% below a year ago.

The USDA’s next round of annual supply, demand, and production estimates for red meat and poultry is out February 10^th.