US - Beef and pork packer margins were excellent in April but they have been moving lower in the last couple of weeks, write Steve Meyer and Len Steiner.The current situation and outlook for packer margins is a hot topic these days as market participants try to understand the pace of livestock slaughter and potential supplies coming to market in June and July.We will quickly outline the conditions in both the beef and pork markets but before we continue one point needs to be underlined. The attached charts do not give you an actual packer margin. Rather, they are a rough calculation of gross margins (Meat Revenue + By Product Value - Livestock cost). Actual margins will vary by packer, depending on the size of the plant, capacity utilisation, age of the operation, etc.

　　史蒂夫·迈耶(Steve Meyer)和莱恩·施泰纳(Len Steiner)写道，牛肉和猪肉批发商四月利润丰厚，但是在最后一周持续下滑。由于市场参加者试图知道牲畜屠宰的速度和市场在六月与七月间即将到来的潜在供应，批发商利润的当前状况和前景在这些天是一个很热的话题。我们很快能大致知道牛肉和猪肉的市场状况，但是在此之前我们需要理解一点。附加的图表不能赠你一个实际的批发商利润。与其相反它们是一个粗算的毛利率(肉类税收+副产品价值+牲畜成本)。实际利润将会通过批发商而变幻，取决于工厂规模、设备使用率、经营年限等等。