The hidden math of meat consolidation

A new plant-level analysis of federally inspected meatpacking facilities shows that decades of consolidation and ownership change have concentrated control over livestock processing into fewer hands, fueling antitrust concerns and policy debates.

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Abstract

Significant plant- and industry-wide disruptions have occurred in the U.S. meat- packing industry during the past several years. The result has been a reinvigorated interest in the possibility that industry concentration has facilitated anticompetitive behavior and a torrent of public policy proposals to improve resiliency.

In this paper, we provide a contemporary synopsis of meat processing concentration statistics with the use of annual plant-level food safety and inspection service (FSIS) data that cover all federally inspected livestock processing facilities in the U.S. for the past 30 years.

Beyond considering traditional concentration measures (e.g., CR4 and HHI), we exploit the plant-level nature of the data and consider trends in processing facility consolidation, ownership changes, and how regional procurement markets have changed over time.