Overview
The database contains monthly average retail price data for selected
cuts of red meat and poultry, based on electronic supermarket scanner
data. While not based on a random sample, the raw data underlying
the database are from supermarkets across the United States that
account for approximately 20 percent of U.S. supermarket sales.
Feature
The April 2003 AmberWaves
Data Feature contains a few examples on how meat prices
respond to featuring and season.
Data Files
Colorado State University's Livestock
Market Information Center (LMIC) now houses the retail
scanner prices for meat database, including standard tables,
the searchable database, and documentation.
An overview and documentation
of the database also are available on the ERS website.
Only random-weight items
that are species-specific and sold in the fresh meat department
of traditional supermarkets are included in the database. Multi-species
items, canned meats, products containing meat (such as frozen dinners),
and deli products are not included. Although most bacon and sausage
are sold in fixed-weight packages, the database does contain information
on random-weight bacon and sausage.
Release Date
LMIC updates are planned for the 20th of the month, or the closest
business day. The data have a 2-month reporting lag; that is, prices
for May are reported in July.
Background
Legislation passed
in 1999 mandates collection of retail meat prices, and reflects
in part concerns about the effects of industry concentration on
prices and reduced bargaining power of independent livestock producers.
Although the Bureau of
Labor Statistics collects retail prices on some of the same
cuts of meat, the ERS database includes price data on more cuts,
information on volumes sold, and the discount effects of featuring.
ERS continues to use BLS prices to calculate meat
price spreads from farm to wholesale and from farm to retail.
However, users can compute alternative price spreads using the meat
retail scanner price data.
Definitions
Item groupings by scanner
data category gives examples of individual meat cuts that are
in the scanner data categories (in *.xls format).
Scanner and BLS categories
match BLS meat categories to the corresponding category in the retail
scanner data (in *.xls format).
Definitions for the volume index,
random-weight items, and other terms related to scanner data and
meat prices.
Questions and Answers
Answers to questions such as: Which
stores are included in the reporting of supermarket scanner data?
How are data weighted to arrive at a national average price?
Related Briefing Rooms
Cattle
Hogs
Poultry
Food Marketing System in the U.S.
Related Resources
BLS Consumer Price Indexes
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