Countries covered: United States
The US poultry processing industry includes about 300 companies with combined annual revenue of about $50 billion. Major companies include Perdue Incorporated, Pilgrim's Pride, and Tyson Foods. The industry is highly concentrated: the 50 largest companies account for more than 90 percent of revenue.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand is driven by domestic meat consumption trends and export markets. The profitability of individual companies depends on efficient production and distribution. Big companies have economies of scale in production and distribution. Small companies can compete successfully by serving a limited geographical area or by producing a specialized product.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Major products are fresh or frozen young chickens (about 65 percent of industry revenue) and processed poultry or meat products (about 25 percent). Other products include turkeys and birds such as ducks, geese, and Cornish hens.
Chickens grown for eating (rather than laying eggs) are called broilers. About 9 billion broilers are produced in the US each year; the average broiler weighs 5 pounds. About 300 million turkeys are produced each year; the average turkey weighs 25 pounds. The large producers use industrial techniques that have been developed to produce chicken products at the lowest possible cost. These involve large feeding operations – using chicken breeds that efficiently turn feed into meat – and large distribution systems that can rapidly put fresh chicken parts on supermarket shelves.
A typical chicken (or turkey) operation involves distinct steps. Chicks are …
Source: First Research, Inc