Hide trading today was sideways for Dairy Steers, Heifers, Kip Skin and Small Packer. Butt Branded and Colorado Branded Steer (BBS and CBS) hides decreased $1/piece to $1.50/piece from Tuesday’s levels. The decreases were driven by downward price pressure from automotive and footwear hide tanners.
The leather demand for the automotive industry that was previously anticipated to be strong at the start of the year, is now expected to be slow. Automotive hide shipments are expected to decline in February, according to a few automotive hide tanners.
Footwear tanners remain absent from the market but are interested in buying some material if the price is attractive and for immediate shipment.
Tanners prefer immediate shipments because they hope to receive the better quality of the winter weight hides. The weather is expected to become more harsh heading further into winter in the US. The poor weather historically negatively impacts hide quality.

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