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<\/div>\nTyson Foods Inc. is closing more beef plants as a prolonged cattle shortage continues to force the US beefpacking industry\u2019s restructuring.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s largest meatpacker said it would cease operations at an Illinois beef plant and a Utah case-ready facility, while also pursuing the sale of another beef plant in Washington. The moves are the latest in a wave of closures, as beef processors try to trim capacity in line with the size of the smaller US cattle herd.<\/p>\n
Production at the affected facilities will be absorbed by other plants, and Tyson now plans to anchor its beef operation around just three plants: in Nebraska, Kansas and Texas. The plant in Amarillo, Texas, that had previously been cut to a single shift, will return to two shifts \u201cas cattle become available,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n
The changes aim \u201cto create a more competitive footprint amidst one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced,\u201d the company said in a statement Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Illinois and Washington beef plants process about 5,000 heads of cattle per day, according to a note from Barclays analysts led by Benjamin Theurer. Tyson\u2019s daily slaughter capacity is estimated to have dropped by about 10,000 heads since the start of 2025, to between 18,000 to 20,000 animals a day, assuming full double shifts at Amarillo, the analysts estimate.<\/p>\n
The move could reduce the company\u2019s market share, especially as the Washington facility may be sold to a competitor, but \u201cbetter utilization rates on higher-end facilities is likely to improve the overall margin profile of the segment,\u201d the analysts said.<\/p>\n
To tackle such challenges, companies have ceased operations in different facilities in an effort to cool competition for cattle and improve margins. Tyson earlier this year closed a different Nebraska beef plant. Peer JBS NV more recently said it would convert its closed<\/a> beef plant in Pennsylvania to make value-added<\/a> products, and Cargill Inc. previously closed<\/a> a Milwaukee facility.<\/p>\n The moves over the past two years already \u201cbrought the supply and demand into a better balance,\u201d National Beef Chief Executive Officer Tim Klein said on a Friday earnings call. He added that he believes \u201cthe most challenging part of the phase of the cycle is now behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n Meatpacking shares rose Friday. Tyson in New York and MBRF in Brazil both posted their biggest intraday jumps in about two weeks. JBS shares also edged higher.<\/p>\n To be sure, a full recovery for the industry remains out of reach. Tyson last week cut its annual profit outlook, and forecast deeper adjusted operating losses in its beef segment. National Beef, the North American beef segment of Brazil\u2019s MBRF Global Foods SA, saw a 4.8% decline in gross profit in the second quarter.<\/p>\n JBS\u2019s incoming chief executive officer, Wesley Batista Filho, said earlier this week that its US beef business had yet to benefit<\/a> from its restructuring efforts.<\/p>\n Meatpackers should see some relief from the US Agriculture Department plan\u2019s to gradually resume live cattle imports from Mexico. Those shipments had been largely halted for over a year to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm, and are slated to begin in late August with one Arizona port.<\/p>\n