The American Lamb Board collaborates with key organizations to provide lamb producers with current market information. The American Sheep Industry Association’s monthly report, a product of this collaboration, highlights lamb supply, trends, pricing and more. Additionally, ALB's partnership with Midan Marketing, a meat marketing agency, has led to the development of quarterly lamb sales reports based on a thorough analysis of retail scanner data. These reports are valuable for tracking the lamb market and sales trends, ensuring that lamb producers are well-informed and supported. 

The Midan retail sales report, a source of market insights, includes sales by cut and region. The retail scanner data, which covers approximately 85% of total U.S. retail sales, provides a comprehensive view of the market. The lamb data is for all lamb sales, including imports. Recently, data has been added to show specific sales of American lamb, further enhancing the accuracy and relevance of the insights provided.

ALB identified the retailers known to carry American lamb, and Midan now reports their sales as aggregate information to get a glimpse of American lamb sales. While it is not a complete data set of all American lamb retail sales, it does include the two largest retail accounts.

The Q4 2023 retail report shows that lamb volume sales were trending below 2022 levels for much of the year. However, a significant shift occurred in the fourth quarter of last year, with volume sales climbing 5.7% (compared to Q4 2022). This was primarily attributed to increased holiday sales. The study found that Americans purchased more pounds of lamb for Thanksgiving last year, and Christmas purchases were on track with 2022 sales. 

The study also brings promising news, revealing a significant growth in the sale of ground lamb. Despite a 2.1% dip in the total lamb volume in 2023 compared to 2022, dollar sales of ground lamb grew 3.9% last year, and volume sales rose 8.4% over the same period. 

“While these reports highlight challenges and successes across the industry, there is much to be encouraged about,” said ALB Chair Jeff Ebert. “Despite an overall dip in sales, it’s encouraging to see young consumers choosing American Lamb. I’m even more encouraged that they not only choose lamb for holiday celebrations but also seek out ground lamb for easy week-night dinner options.”

To better understand the lamb market and sales information, the full reports from the American Lamb Board can be obtained by emailing Rae@americanlamb.com or visiting LambBoard.com.

Source: American Lamb Board