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The U.S. broiler industry has shown steady growth in early 2025, with January broiler production reaching 4,138 million pounds, marking a 2.1% year-over-year increase. This rise is attributed to a 1.0% higher slaughter total and a 1.1% increase in the average live weight of broilers, which now stands at 6.65 pounds.
Hatchery data further supports this upward trend. In January, the total number of broiler chicks hatched amounted to 869.3 million, a 3.0% year-over-year increase. Given this production strength and robust preliminary slaughter data in February, total poultry production for the first quarter of 2025 has been adjusted upward to 11,700 million pounds while total production for 2025 stands at 47,700 million pounds, a 1.5% increase over 2024.
While production has increased, the national composite whole broiler price experienced a slight decline in February, averaging 127.08 cents per pound. This represents a 6.3-cent decrease from January but remains about a cent higher than February 2024 levels.
Wholesale prices for most chicken parts also saw year-over-year increases in February. Boneless, skinless (B/S) breast meat rose to 172.59 cents per pound, although this figure remains below last September’s high of 190.54 cents per pound. Chicken tenders followed a similar trend, increasing year-over-year to 169.79 cents per pound. Meanwhile, leg quarters averaged 51.46 cents per pound in February, up 5.6 cents from the previous year. However, this cut has not experienced the same volatility as white meat products.
Conversely, whole chicken wings saw a price decline. In February, the wholesale price averaged 186.94 cents per pound, down 7.6 cents from the same period last year and significantly lower than the July 2024 peak of 261.7 cents per pound.
Based on recent price trends and increased production estimates, the projected average whole broiler prices for the first and second quarters of 2025 have been adjusted downward by one cent each, bringing them to 130 and 133 cents per pound, respectively. The second-half projections remain unchanged at 131 cents per pound for both the third and fourth quarters. Overall, the revised 2025 average price projection for whole broilers now stands at 131.3 cents per pound.