Planes, trains, and…packing plants

Prime Future 305: Strategy, capital, and innovation in animal protein

If you’ve never seen the unparalleled “analysis” of Spirit Airlines delivered by comedian John Crist, then this is my gift to you. (Just hit play, I’ll wait.)

There have been plenty of less humorous but equally riveting post-mortems on Spirit Airlines after the company finally reached the end of its multi-year death spiral, including one that made me wonder about something I’ve never considered before: how similar the meatpacking business is to the airline industry.

Let’s look at the case behind this claim and how it might create a more informed understanding of livestock producers’ biggest customers: packers.