This is the ceiling every cattle price is paid out of. The packer buys cattle and sells boxes; the cutout is what those boxes brought. When it falls faster than the cattle market, the bid follows it down.
USDA publishes a morning and an afternoon cutout each day; this is the afternoon close, the settled number the trade quotes. Loads are 40,000-lb equivalents.
Marbling only pays in the middle of the carcass. Choice beats Select by $86.30 on the rib and $42.49 on the loin, but on the round, plate and flank Select is the dearer of the two.
That is the whole economics of grading in one line: a grid pays for marbling because the rib and loin pay for it, not because the whole carcass does.
| Primal | Choice | Select | Choice − Select |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rib | $667.52 | $581.22 | +$86.30 |
| Loin | $463.00 | $420.51 | +$42.49 |
| Chuck | $324.84 | $321.94 | +$2.90 |
| Round | $297.72 | $298.90 | −$1.18 |
| Brisket | $300.34 | $292.85 | +$7.49 |
| Plate | $236.65 | $236.65 | +$0.00 |
| Flank | $158.93 | $162.92 | −$3.99 |
Primal values are for 600–900 lb carcasses, USDA's standard weight range. Plate and short plate are the same cut under two names USDA has used at different times.
| Cut | Choice | Select | Spread | Pounds | Trades |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loin, top butt, boneless (184 3) | $492.61 | — | — | 516,429 | 47 |
| Rib, ribeye, lip-on, bn-in (109E 1) | $1,358.60 | — | — | 327,566 | 37 |
| Round, eye of round (171C 3) | $395.50 | — | — | 296,186 | 51 |
| Loin, strip, bnls, 0x1 (180 3) | $962.82 | $792.36 | +170.46 | 289,765 | 55 |
| Round, knuckle, peeled (167A 4) | $411.07 | $399.15 | +11.92 | 155,321 | 43 |
| Round, outside round (171B 3) | $378.12 | — | — | 131,353 | 18 |
| Chuck, roll, lxl, neck/off (116A 3) | $592.86 | $529.82 | +63.04 | 117,920 | 20 |
| Chuck, chuck tender (116B 1) | $404.19 | — | — | 112,944 | 28 |
| Flank, flank steak (193 4) | $619.69 | $667.72 | −48.03 | 109,149 | 28 |
| Loin, tndrloin, trmd, heavy (189A 4) | $1,753.48 | — | — | 108,360 | 33 |
| Loin, top butt, CC (184B 3) | $661.43 | $0.00 | +661.43 | 104,940 | 7 |
| Chuck, shoulder clod, trmd (114A 3) | $419.01 | — | — | 102,635 | 14 |
Figures marked USDA are as reported; Derived marks our arithmetic, with the method stated beside it.
Related: fed cattle for what the packer paid for the animal, cull cows and bulls for the grinding beef market, and who gets what for the whole split. This site is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the USDA.