SIC 5144 Poultry and Poultry Products
SIC 5144
This category encompasses establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of poultry and poultry products, except canned and packaged frozen foods. Not included are establishments primarily engaged in the killing and dressing of poultry, which are classified in SIC 2015: Poultry Slaughtering and Processing. Establishments primarily engaged in the wholesale distribution of packaged frozen poultry are classified in SIC 5142: Packaged Frozen Goods, and those distributing canned poultry are classified in SIC 5149: Groceries and Related Products, Not Elsewhere Classified.
422440
Poultry and Poultry Product Wholesalers
Between 1989 and 2001, U.S. consumer demand for chicken jumped 60 percent, which Supermarket Business attributed in large part to the industry's aggressive development and marketing of value-added, case-ready products, such as boneless breast strips, shredded chicken in a tub, grilled fillets, and diced and shredded breast meat, often pre-seasoned and packaged with flavor-enhancing sauces. U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics revealed that U.S. consumers ate 70 percent more chicken in 2001 than 20 years earlier, amounting to about 57 pounds of chicken per capita.
By 2003, the industry employed 23,550 workers in its 1,133 establishments, according to analysts at Dun & Bradstreet. Nearly half of these businesses employed fewer than five people; however, like much of the U.S. wholesale industry, poultry distribution was rapidly consolidating in the early and mid-2000s, shifting focus to value-added services such as inventory and display management. Poultry wholesalers raked in revenues estimated at about $6.45 billion in 2003.
Different kinds of poultry meat command vastly different prices. The wholesale price of chicken breasts, for example, was generally twice that of dark leg meat. While purchasing whole chickens was generally the cheapest option per pound, consumer trends were driving away from this option, as demand skyrocketed for more easily prepared and more controlled meat types, such as ready-to-eat boneless breast fillets.
The U.S. poultry industry started on small farms, where chickens and eggs provided family income. Hatcheries, feed stores, and poultry...
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