Hides and Leather

Hides and leather have been used since ancient times for boots, clothing, shields, armor, tents, bottles, buckets, and cups. Leather is produced through the tanning of hides, pelts, and skins of animals. Dating back at least 7,000 years, remains of leather have been found in the Middle East. The leather-tanning craft can be traced back for almost 500,000 years.

Today, most leather is made of cowhide but it is also made from the hides of lamb, deer, ostrich, and even stingray. Cattle hides are the most valuable byproduct of the meat packing industry. US exports of cowhides bring more than $1 billion in foreign trade, and US finished leather production is worth about $4 billion.

Prices – The price of wholesale cattle hides (packer heavy native steers FOB Chicago) in 2003 rose +2.3% to 84.00 cents per pound from 82.13 cents in 2002, slightly above the 10-year average price of 83.12 cents per pound.

Supply – World production of bovine hides and skins in 2000, the last reporting year, rose slightly by +0.2% to 4.139 million metric tons from the previous year. The world’s largest producers of bovine hides and skins is the US with 24% of world production in 2000, Brazil with 16% and Argentina with 7%. US new supply of cattle hides from domestic slaughter in 2001 fell –2.9% to 35.370 million hides from 36.416 million in 2000.

US production of leather footwear has been dropping off sharply in recent years due to the movement of production offshore to lower cost producers. US production of leather footwear in 2002 fell to 41.2 million pairs from 55.6 million in 2001 and was only about one-fourth of the production level seen 10 years earlier.

Demand – World consumption of cowhides and skins in 2000, the last reporting year for the data series, rose +1.4% to 4,774 metric tons, which was the highest level seen in the data series which goes back to 1983. The world’s largest consumers of cowhides and skins are the US with 13.0% of world consumption in 2000, Italy (10.6%), Brazil (8.9%), Mexico, (6.0%), Argentina (6.0%), and South Korea (5.9%).

Trade – US net exports of cattle hides in 2001 rose +10.6% to a 12- year high of 21.750 million hides from 19.670 million in 2000. The total value of US leather exports rose to a record high $1.221 billion in 2001. The largest destinations for US exports are South Korea (which took 28.0% of US exports in 2000), Taiwan (10.8%), Mexico (6.2%), and Italy (5.3%).

World imports of cowhides and skins in 2000 rose to a record high of 2,058 metric tons from 2,002 metric tons in 1999. The world’s largest importers of cowhides and skins are South Korea (with 12.6% of world imports in 2000), Italy (10.7%) and Taiwan (6.9%).