Record levels of meat is piling up in the US , with more than 2.5 billion lbs of beef , pork , poultry and turkey amassing in warehouses . Rising demand is coinciding with trade tensions that have caused exports to dwindle , according to federal statistics . While domestic consumption has increased , it 's not enough to take up the burden , threatening profits for pig farms . Some pig farmers , for example , are already starting to scale back their operations . However , cold - storage warehouses are profiting from the stockpiling .
Record levels of meat is piling up in the US, with more than 2.5 billion lbs of beef, pork, poultry and turkey amassing in warehouses. Rising output is coinciding with trade tensions that have caused exports to dwindle, according to federal data. While domestic demand has increased, it's not enough to take up the slack, threatening profits for meat manufacturers. Some pig farmers, for example, are already starting to scale back their operations. However, cold-storage warehouses are profiting from the stockpiling.