Clear and continuing changes in the structure of the U.S. meatpacking industry have significantly increased economic concentration since the mid-1970s. Concentration levels are among the highest of any industry in the United States, and well above levels generally considered to elicit...

Competition among beef packing firms, use of so-called captive supply, and methods of price discovery have been prolonged, contentious issues in the U.S. beef industry for two decades or more. While of lesser apparent concern in Canada for many years, these same matters rose to the forefront of...

Economic theory suggests that adding a competitive buyer to a market should have positive effects on competition and prices, ceteris paribus. An additional buyer increases market demand, shifting demand to the right, and expands the number of active buyers, reducing average market shares of...

As cattle markets have transitioned from predominantly cash market sealed-bid or negotiated price discovery to more formula pricing, marketing agreements, forward contracts, and packer-owned cattle feeding, concerns about methods of price discovery for fed cattle have escalated. High levels of...