Data infrastructure / open access
Public data catalog
Download the records behind the research, including market shares, concentration measures, official events, and source references. Coverage and missing values are documented for each dataset.
Source records move through market definitions, concentration calculations, confidence labels, and public data endpoints — 45 source records, 12 market profiles, 235809 record rows plus a 1 row summary endpoint across 62 API endpoints.
Record rows
235,809
Sources
45
Endpoints
62
Aug 15, 2026
Latest source review
62
Dataset families
4
Source types
Market-definition atlas
What market is this metric measuring?
Inspect each product boundary, geography, denominator, proxy choice, and permitted comparison use before treating concentration values as economic evidence.
Selected definition contract
U.S. steer and heifer purchases by beef packers
Product boundary
Purchases of steers and heifers by beef packers
Geographic boundary
United States, while cattle procurement often occurs in regional markets
Measurement basis
USDA-reported share of steer and heifer purchases handled by the four largest beef packers
Denominator
All U.S. steer and heifer purchases represented in the USDA historical CR4 series
Included
The aggregate top-four packer share at published historical anchors
Excluded
Individual packer shares, hog purchases, regional procurement areas, cattle prices, and wholesale beef sales
Method and limitations
Publish the USDA national CR4 anchors and withhold HHI until a complete individual packer-share distribution is public and citable.
A national aggregate buyer-side CR4 is not an HHI, does not identify individual firms, and does not define the regional procurement choices facing a particular rancher or feeder.
Boundary source
Concentration in U.S. Meatpacking Industry and How It Affects Competition and Cattle Prices
U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service · accessed 2026-07-19
Open data needs public interpretation.
The API is a starting point, not a legal conclusion. Pair downloads with methodology notes, source records, and the data-gaps report when citing market concentration.