SINCE 2020 the price of beef in America’s shops has soared(飙升) by around 70%, more than twice the general inflation rate. Americans are disgruntled(不满的，怨愤的), and the president knows whom to blame: the middlemen(中间商). Meatpackers, who buy cattle from farmers and turn steers(阉公牛，肉牛) into beef, “are a nasty monopoly(恶劣的垄断)”, Donald Trump declared on Truth Social(特朗普自创的社交媒体平台) last month.
自2020年以来，美国商店里的牛肉价格飙升了约70%，是整体通胀率的两倍多。美国民众怨声载道，而总统知道该怪谁：中间商。从农民手中购买牛只、把公牛变成牛肉的肉类加工商，“是一个恶劣的垄断者”，唐纳德·特朗普上个月在“真相社交”上宣称。
The industry certainly is concentrated(集中的). Just four companies—Tyson Foods, Cargill, JBS and National Beef—slaughter(屠宰) 85% of America’s cattle. Trustbusters(反垄断机构/执法者) have had the oligopoly(寡头垄断) in their sights for some time now. Tyson, Cargill and JBS have each settled lawsuits(达成诉讼和解) in America alleging they fixed prices(操纵价格，价格垄断) between 2014 and 2022. (All firms have denied wrongdoing.)
该行业确实高度集中。仅四家公司——泰森食品、嘉吉、JBS和National Beef——就屠宰了美国85%的牛。反垄断机构盯上这个寡头集团已有一段时间。泰森、嘉吉和JBS各自就美国指控它们在2014年至2022年间操纵价格的诉讼达成了和解。（所有公司均否认有不当行为。）
Yet despite record beef prices, the “Big Processors”, as Mr Trump calls them, are not thriving(兴旺的，繁荣的). Shares in Tyson, the largest, have tumbled(暴跌) by 40% since 2021—and by 7% since it cut its earnings forecast(盈利预期) on September 3rd. It now expects its beef business, which brings in 40% of revenue, to lose as much as $775m this year.(该公司现在预计，占其收入40%的牛肉业务今年将亏损高达7.75亿美元。) Trouble in the division has dragged the company’s overall operating margin(营业利润率) down from 8.5% in 2021 to 2.6%. JBS, which is Brazilian, has said its North American business lost $427m in the first half of 2026.
然而，尽管牛肉价格创下纪录，特朗普口中的这些“大型加工商”却并未兴旺。最大的泰森食品股价自2021年以来已暴跌40%，自9月3日下调盈利预期以来又跌了7%。该公司现在预计，占其收入40%的牛肉业务今年将亏损高达7.75亿美元。该部门的困境已把公司整体营业利润率从2021年的8.5%拉低至2.6%。巴西公司JBS表示，其北美业务在2026年上半年亏损了4.27亿美元。
