The U.S. Census Bureau released advanced estimates on retail sales in the U.S. economy for October on November 15.  Total retail sales, economy-wide, were up 2.7 percent from a year earlier in October, the smallest gain since July.  The rate of growth has been very stable since April, ranging from 1.7 to 3.8 percent gains.  Food sector retail sales in October were up 4.2 percent from a year earlier.  Food sector retail sales growth has outpaced retail sales for the overall economy since August 2022.

According to the latest USDA NASS Cattle on Feed report, inventory levels increased 1.7% from last year to more than 11.9 million head, as of November 1. Pre-report estimates were close to the actual report with average analyst estimates expecting a 1.9% increase within a range of up 1.4% to up 2.4%. Cattle marketed in October totaled nearly 1.8 million head, down 46,000 head or 2.5% from a year earlier. This was largely in line with pre-report estimates which were expecting a decline ranging from down 1.5% to down 2.8% with an average estimate of down 2.0%. 

USDA NASS released the October Cold Storage data this week, providing the opening numbers for the fourth quarter of 2023. The summary statistic is that red meat declined from a year ago, while poultry numbers were even, and dairy numbers were about even as well. Frozen eggs were up 29% from a year ago, more of a comment on last year’s HPAI influences rather than a high volume in 2023.