{"license":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","dataset":"sources","count":1,"filters":{"source":"usda-ers-meatpacking-2024","sourceMatched":true,"sourceId":"usda-ers-meatpacking-2024","sourceTitle":"Concentration in U.S. Meatpacking Industry and How It Affects Competition and Cattle Prices","sourcePublisher":"U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service","sourceProfileHref":"/sources/usda-ers-meatpacking-2024"},"rows":[{"id":"usda-ers-meatpacking-2024","title":"Concentration in U.S. Meatpacking Industry and How It Affects Competition and Cattle Prices","publisher":"U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service","citationAuthor":"MacDonald, James M.","citationAuthorType":"person","citationYear":2024,"url":"https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/january/concentration-in-u-s-meatpacking-industry-and-how-it-affects-competition-and-cattle-prices","description":"Official USDA analysis of historical buyer concentration plant scale cattle prices capacity and entry in U.S. meatpacking.","sourceType":"agency_report","accessDate":"2026-07-19","citationText":"MacDonald, James M., Concentration in U.S. Meatpacking Industry and How It Affects Competition and Cattle Prices, U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, January 25 2024.","licenseNote":"Public federal government analysis","archivedUrl":null,"markets":[{"id":"mkt-meatpacking","slug":"us-steer-heifer-meatpacking-purchases","name":"U.S. steer and heifer purchases by beef packers","shortName":"Beef meatpacking","description":"Buyer-side meatpacking concentration using USDA-reported shares of U.S. steer and heifer purchases handled by the four largest beef packers. The profile preserves the national CR4 history but withholds HHI because the public source does not publish individual packer shares.","geography":"United States / regional cattle procurement markets","sector":"Food and agriculture","naicsCode":"311611","sicCode":null,"sourceNotes":"USDA Economic Research Service reports that the four largest beef packers handled 36 percent of steer and heifer purchases in 1980, 81 percent in 1995, and 85 percent in 2019.","methodologyNotes":"Treat the published values as a national buyer-side aggregate CR4. Do not infer individual shares, calculate HHI, or treat the national series as a defined regional cattle procurement market.","dataVintage":"2019","isFeatured":true}],"canonicalCitation":"MacDonald, James M., Concentration in U.S. Meatpacking Industry and How It Affects Competition and Cattle Prices, U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, January 25 2024. Available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/january/concentration-in-u-s-meatpacking-industry-and-how-it-affects-competition-and-cattle-prices. Accessed Jul 19, 2026. Antitrust Radar source record usda-ers-meatpacking-2024: https://antitrustradar.org/sources/usda-ers-meatpacking-2024","citationDownloads":{"bibtex":"/sources/usda-ers-meatpacking-2024/citation/bibtex","ris":"/sources/usda-ers-meatpacking-2024/citation/ris"},"profileHref":"/sources/usda-ers-meatpacking-2024"}]}