More important in the eyes of many U.S. hides and skins suppliers, though, is the global leather demand situation, and the rise of synthetic products as alternatives to leather. The leather industry has experienced an extremely tough market in the last several years, which has been strained further by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in spring 2020, U.S. steer hide value accounted for less than one percent of the entire value of the animal – likely the lowest percentage on record – after COVID-related plant shutdowns pressured the U.S. cattle and beef markets.
Despite marginal improvements in hide prices in the latter half of 2020, the industry is poised to once again contend with slumping global demand, weak prices, and disinformation campaigns that seek to intentionally mischaracterize leather’s environmental impact. Plastic synthetics and plant-based alternatives that imitate leather, but are not real leather, have taken significant market share away from the material in consumer product areas such as footwear and automobile upholstery. The situation is so dire that lower quality hides and skins are being composted and destroyed rather than processed into leather – a trend that we first reported in 2019 and has continued as market incentives to process and distribute certain hides have diminished.