Beef Loin Cuts

Source: USDA AMS National Daily Boxed Beef Cutout, Negotiated Sales (LM_XB403). Click any row for the full chart, multi-year history, and seasonal context.

The loin is the middle-meat primal that runs along the spine from the last rib back to the hip socket. On a standard 750 lb carcass it carries about 17 percent of the weight, but it produces the highest-revenue cuts on the carcass: strip loins, tenderloins, top butts, tri-tips, and bottom sirloin flaps. Buyers focused on white-tablecloth foodservice or premium retail steak programs spend most of their attention here. Loin sub-primals split into two halves. The short loin (IMPS 174 through 180, sitting forward) yields the strip loin and the tenderloin, the highest-value cuts on the carcass. The sirloin (IMPS 181 through 185, sitting rearward) yields top butt, tri-tip, ball-tip, top sirloin cap (picanha, IMPS 184B), and the bottom sirloin flap (bavette, IMPS 185A). Pricing dynamics differ between the two halves: short-loin demand is driven by steakhouse and retail steak programs, while sirloin moves more on grilling-season pulls and value-steak features. Every loin sub-primal is priced daily in the USDA AMS National Daily Boxed Beef Cutout report (LM_XB403), broken out by Choice and Select grade. Volume reports show pounds traded per cut per day, which is the cleanest signal of demand depth. The Choice/Select spread within the loin runs wider than other primals because steak programs prefer Choice for marbling.