Efficiency Analysis of the Companies in the U.S. Meat Industry

To cope with changes in industrial concentration, consumer preferences, more stringent meat safety measures by the governmental agencies, and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the North America Free Trade Agreement, companies in the U.S. meat industry need to attain as high levels of technical efficiency as possible. The purpose of the study is three-fold: (1) measure the level of pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency attained by the companies in the U.S. meat industry; (2) analyze the relationship between firm size and technical efficiency; and (3) estimate the association of major marketing and operational decision variables with the level of pure technical efficiency attained by the meat companies.