Meat Products Manufacture

The US meat products manufacturing industry includes about 3,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $130 billion. Large companies include Tyson Foods, Smithfield Foods, and Pilgrim's Pride. Tyson is the largest beef company, Smithfield the largest pork company, and Pilgrim's Pride the largest poultry company. The slaughtering segment of the industry is concentrated: the 50 largest companies hold 75 percent of the market. The secondary processing segment, meat processed from carcasses, is also concentrated: the top 50 companies hold about 65 percent of the market. Poultry processing is highly concentrated: the top 50 companies hold more than 90 percent of the market.

Additional information on the poultry industry is available in the Poultry Processing industry profile.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by consumer income and by exports. Because meat is largely a commodity, the profitability of individual companies depends on efficient operations and an effective distribution network. Large companies have big economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete effectively in a local area or by producing unique products. The industry is capital-intensive: average annual revenue per employee is about $1 million.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major products are wholesale meat parts ("boxed" beef or pork) that will be cut or processed further, ground beef for commercial use, and "case-ready" (ready for supermarket display cases) items for retail use. The industry produces more than 25 billion pounds of beef products per year, and nearly ...