The US beef packing industry showed signs of modest deconsolidation in 2025, with smaller plants increasing both in number and market share, while the largest processors lost some ground amid tighter cattle supplies.
According to analysis by Derrell Peel, total cattle slaughter reached 29.25 million head in 2025, down 6.4% year-on-year and the lowest level since 2015. Of the 937 federally inspected beef packing plants, 94.8% were facilities with annual capacity of up to 100,000 head, accounting for 7.1% of total slaughter, up from 3.9% in 2007.
At the other end of the spectrum, just 11 plants with annual capacity above 1 million head accounted for 47.3% of total cattle slaughter and 58.1% of fed cattle slaughter, although that share has been declining since 2019 and is now at its lowest level since 1994. The closure of Tyson’s Lexington plant will reduce that group to 10 facilities.
Peel noted that while the overall structure of the industry remains highly concentrated — largely unchanged since the 1990s — renewed interest in smaller regional packing plants is gradually reshaping the US beef processing landscape.
Source: Drovers
