The Trump administration has announced it will issue fines of $998 per day to illegal immigrants who do not voluntarily deport themselves.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News, “Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now.”
“If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order,” McLaughlin added.
Reuters further notes that a Trump official confirmed the administration intends to use a 1996 law to apply retroactive penalties on illegal aliens dating back up to five years, meaning fines could rack up to over $1 million.
A DHS flyer aimed at illegals has also been highlighted by Fox News, touting the “benefits” and “consequences” of self-deporting, and includes mention of the huge fines.
“Self-deportation is safe. Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight,” the flyer states.
3/ Just got confirmation: DHS is sending “formal termination notices” RIGHT NOW. They’re telling people to “voluntarily self-deport” using the rebranded “CBP Home App” 🤔
The flyer further notes that those who make the decision to leave will be allowed to keep the money they earned in America, and still be eligible for legal immigration, in the future as well as subsidized flights if they cannot afford them.
It further adds that those who do not leave immediately will be “apprehended by DHS with no opportunity to get your affairs in order beforehand,” and could face additional fines of $1,000 to $5,000 for failing to self deport after “claiming that you will.”
* * *
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Johnson Says House GOP “Have The Votes” To Pass Budget Resolution Today
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Thursday morning that they “believe they have the votes” to pass a budget resolution and plan to move forward later in the morning with a vote in the House, as House Republicans have been trying to get a budget blueprint for President Trump’s agenda over the finish line, CBS News reports.
Negotiations had continued into Wednesday night, as Johnson and the White House struggled to convince GOP holdouts who wanted deeper spending cuts. The lower chamber was set to vote Wednesday evening on the budget resolution but punted after several House conservatives resisted increasing pressure from Mr. Trump to accept the blueprint that would open the door to implementing his border security, defense, energy priorities and extending expiring tax cuts.
“I’m happy to tell you that this morning, I believe we have the votes to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward on President Trump’s very important agenda for the American people,” Johnson told reporters Thursday morning on Capitol Hill.
🚨 JUST IN: SPEAKER JOHNSON says he has the votes to move forward with Trump-backed spending bill – MAJOR cuts.
“At LEAST $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people… many of us are going to aim much higher.” pic.twitter.com/T6uiTmYUuH
Johnson called the budget a “big beautiful bill,” mirroring Mr. Trump’s language. The speaker said they’re looking for $1.5 trillion in savings, at a minimum.
“Our aim is to deliver on our promises in this big beautiful bill regarding things like border security, restoring peace through strength and American energy dominance, and regulatory reform to get the economy really humming again. And of course also, tax relief, tax reductions. We have to make the tax cuts permanent. And that’s all involved and enveloped in this big effort.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that Republicans are “aligned on the need to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent.”
“We’re ready to move forward,” Thune said.
Approving the budget plan in both chambers is the first step in the reconciliation process, which allows Congress to bypass the 60-vote threshold required to advance most legislation in the Senate and pass Mr. Trump’s agenda with a simple majority. Going that route allows Republicans, who have control of the House and Senate, to pass the measure without any support from Democrats.
The House and Senate worked on separate blueprints earlier this year but more recently reached a compromise resolution, which the Senate adopted early Saturday morning. Republican leaders in the House had hoped to unite their divided party behind the budget plan this week before Congress leaves town for a two-week recess.
But Johnson said Wednesday night that he could keep the House in session next week if they can’t get it done before the weekend.
The Senate set much lower minimum floors for spending cuts at just about $4 billion dollars, though committees could find far more. The compromise resolution also allows for the House to slash at least $1.5 trillion in spending.
The Senate also wants to account for tax cuts enacted during Mr. Trump’s first term with a tactic known as “current policy baseline,” which assumes that continuing expiring policies will cost nothing. Under that baseline, the nearly $4 trillion it would cost to extend the 2017 tax cuts would not be counted, further frustrating House conservatives.
Before backing the resolution, House conservatives want assurances from the Senate that there will be deeper spending cuts, which sent leadership scrambling to find another compromise.
“We just don’t trust the Senate,” Rep. Eric Burlison, a Missouri Republican, told reporters Wednesday night after fiscal hawks huddled with Johnson for more than hour as the vote was delayed. “We all campaign on spending cuts, but again and again, that doesn’t happen. And when the Senate sent over something that said $4 billion is their floor, that was unacceptable to a lot of us.“
Trump, meanwhile, has increased pressure on House Republicans in recent days to swallow the blueprint, telling holdouts on Tuesday night, “close your eyes and get there.” He added that individual lawmakers may not get “every little ounce” of what they want in the legislation.
“It’s a phenomenal bill. Stop grandstanding,” Mr. Trump said at the House GOP campaign arm’s fundraising dinner.
Chinese Sellers On Amazon Panic After Trump’s Tariff Bazooka
President Trump announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese imports to 125% on Wednesday afternoon, following the Chinese government’s move to raise tariffs on U.S. goods to 84%. So far, the Chinese Communist Party has not taken retaliatory action on the latest tariff round. These steep tariffs are poised to crush Chinese sellers that have long dominated Amazon’s marketplace by flooding the U.S. with cheap junk.
Data from SmartScout shows that most of Amazon’s sellers are based in China. Over the years, Chinese sellers have figured out how to cut out intermediaries and use Amazon as a direct-to-consumer marketplace for low-cost goods such as electronics, toys, household items, and fashion accessories.
Now, the crushing blow of tariffs has sparked turmoil for Chinese sellers.
Wang Xin, head of the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association—which represents over 3,000 Amazon sellers—told Reuters, “This isn’t just a tax issue; the entire cost structure gets completely overwhelmed,” adding, “It’ll be very hard for anyone to survive in the U.S. market.”
Wang called President Trump’s tariff war a “truly an unprecedented blow.”
Reuters spoke with other sellers about the turmoil unfolding in China:
Of the five sellers who spoke to Reuters, three said they would look to raise prices for their exports to the U.S., while two planned to leave the market entirely.
Dave Fong, whose products range from schoolbags to Bluetooth speakers, said on Thursday he has raised prices in the U.S. by up to 30% and would let inventory levels fall and lower spending on Amazon advertising fees, which once took up 40% of his U.S. revenue.
“For us and anyone else, you can’t rely on the U.S. market, that’s quite clear,” Fong said. “We have to reduce investment, and put more resources into regions like Europe, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the world.”
On Wednesday, word spread that a document viewed by Bloomberg specified that Amazon reduced its exposure by slashing shipments of Chinese products.
Trade data via the supply chain platform Sayari shows that Amazon suppliers are primarily based in China.
Brian Miller, who has sold on Amazon from China for seven years, told Reuters, “I don’t see a scenario, if things don’t change, that serving the U.S. from China is viable anymore and manufacturing that serves the U.S. will have to be transferred to other countries like Vietnam, or Mexico.”
Why sellers did not heed Trump’s warning about the tariff war for the last decade is beyond comprehension and inexcusable—clearly their loss. And for those who listened and either friend-shored or re-shored supply chains out of China …
The silver lining is that high tariffs on China will begin to stop cheap Chinese junk flooding this nation. Americans need to detox from their obsession with cheap Chinese products that routinely break or come broken.
The European Union said on Thursday that it will pause its countermeasures against U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs for 90 days.
“We took note of the announcement by President Trump. We want to give negotiations a chance,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an April 10 statement posted on the social media platform X.
“While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our member states, we will put them on hold for 90 days.”
“If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in. Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table,” she added.
The countermeasures, which were agreed upon by the EU on Wednesday, had been due to start on April 15.
Trump announced on April 9 that he is pausing for 90 days reciprocal tariffs that went into effect earlier in the day, maintaining a 10 percent baseline tariff across the board, while at the same time raising rates for China.
Early Thursday morning, von der Leyen made a separate statement on X saying Trump’s decision to pause tariffs is “an important step toward stabilizing the global economy.”
“Tariffs are taxes that only hurt businesses and consumers,” she said.
“That’s why I’ve consistently advocated for a zero-for-zero tariff agreement between the European Union and the United States.”
She said that the European Union remains committed to “constructive negotiations with the United States, with the goal of achieving frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.”
Before Trump’s 90 day pause, the Unites States had imposed a 20 percent tariff on all EU goods. Following Trump’s announcement on April 9, however, the 27-nation bloc will now be subject to a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods, except steel and aluminum products, which are still subject to higher tariffs of 25 percent.
The EU’s first set of retaliatory measures in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum was approved on April 9, with countermeasures to the steel and aluminum tariffs on items such as jeans, whiskey, and motorcycles, if implemented.
The 25 percent tariffs imposed by the United States on all steel and aluminum imports went into effect shortly after midnight on March 12.
Trump said that he was introducing new standards requiring steel to be “melted and poured” and aluminum to be “smelted and cast” in North America to prevent countries such as China from circumventing trade restrictions.
When asked by a reporter at the White House on April 7 whether von der Leyen’s previous offer to negotiate a “zero-for-zero” tariff pact on industrial goods was enough for him to back down on 20 percent duties on imports, Trump said: “No, it’s not.”
“The European Union’s been really tough over the years. We have a [trade] deficit with the European Union of $350 billion, and it’s going to disappear fast,” the president said.
“And one of the ways that that can disappear easily and quickly is they’re going to have to buy our energy from us. They can buy it, we can knock off $350 billion in one week.”
LNG
European Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told the Financial Times on April 10 that the EU may push to buy more liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States.
“There is potential for us to buy more LNG from the US but of course it needs to be on conditions that are also in line with our [green] transition,” Jørgensen said.
The EU is already a major buyer of U.S. energy. Trump has previously said that he is determined to make the EU an even bigger purchaser of LNG.
EU leaders are also prioritizing a renewables-first energy approach, along with comprehensive legislation aimed at making the bloc the first climate-neutral continent by 2050.
“We are all well aware that the high energy prices we are paying are not sustainable in the global competition in the future,“ Jørgensen said. ”We have spent more money buying fossil fuels from Russia since 2022 than we have given in aid to Ukraine.”
Jobless Claims Keep Rising In ‘Deep TriState’ Region As DOGE Impact Accelerates
Another week, another solid jobless claims print, seemingly crushing the Paul Revere-ish cries of “a recession is coming” from the Left and the legacy media.
223k Americans filed for jobless benefits for the first time last week – a number that has basically been flat (near multi-decade lows) for the last four years…
Source: Bloomberg
Last week’s break above 1.9 million Americans continuing to take jobless benefits was revised back down and into the range it has been in for the last year or so…
Source: Bloomberg
Looking at the ‘Deep Tristate’ area, we see claims surged in Virginia…
Source: Bloomberg
…and Continuing jobless claims in the ‘Deep TriState’ region continue to rise…
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said she is setting up a task force to cut costs and root out what she said is “weaponization” of the government.
In a statement on Tuesday, Gabbard said that the task force creation is designed to “rebuild trust in the Intelligence Community” and to align with President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
“We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization,” she said in the statement.
Several of the moves will fall under Trump’s executive orders that established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a cost-cutting organization associated with senior Trump adviser Elon Musk, although the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) did not provide further details in the statement. But it did say that the office is currently “identifying wasteful spending, inefficiencies, and bloated bureaucracy.”
The ODNI said that it is currently reviewing any documents for potential declassification, including details on the origins of COVID-19, the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation into allegations that Trump colluded with Russia in 2016, “anomalous health incidents,” and the Biden administration’s “domestic surveillance and censorship actions.”
Anomalous health incidents refer to “Havana Syndrome,” or unexplained and sudden symptoms such as dizziness, pain, mental difficulties, and other symptoms reported by the U.S. government that first occurred in 2016.
Crossfire Hurricane drew controversy among Republicans, who said that it relied on false information to obtain a warrant to surveil a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.
Trump has long decried the FBI investigation and said it was part of a longstanding witch hunt meant to harm his presidency and reelection campaign. An investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller found that Russia engaged in election interference in the 2016 election but did not find that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
Gabbard’s task force will also root out what it called “deep-seeded politicization” as well as expose “unauthorized disclosures of classified intelligence,” according to the statement.
The group is also working to revoke security clearances for people who “no longer have an active role in national security,” including former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton, and former President Joe Biden.
Other work includes declassifying materials related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy. Last month, the Trump administration declassified documents relating to the JFK assassination in 1963 as part of the president’s executive order issued at the start of his presidency in January.
“President Trump promised the American people maximum transparency and accountability. We are committed to executing the President’s vision and focusing the Intelligence Community on its core mission,” Gabbard’s statement said.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was confirmed by the Senate in February by a 52–48 vote, with former Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell being the only Republican to vote against her confirmation.
During her first congressional hearing after assuming office, Gabbard was asked about a Signal chat group with members of the Trump White House that included messages about strikes in Yemen. Gabbard said that she did not share any classified information outside of official channels.
One Of The Largest Malls In The U.S. Just Defaulted On Its $300 Million Mortgage
Destiny USA, New York’s largest mall and one of the biggest in the U.S., has defaulted on a $300 million mortgage, according to Syracuse.com.
Its owner, Carousel Center Co., failed to secure an extension when the loan matured on June 6 of last year, according to recent financial filings.
The Syracuse.com report says that after failing to extend its loan maturity, Destiny USA’s $300 million mortgage is now in default, with the full balance of $325.2 million—including $25.2 million in deferred interest—immediately due, according to an independent audit.
The lender terminated its forbearance agreement, raising the threat of foreclosure, as seen with two other Pyramid-owned malls last year.
Pyramid is negotiating a deal to extend the loan to Dec. 6, 2025, in exchange for a $1.1 million “consent fee,” but auditors warn there’s no guarantee of success. As they put it: “These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Pyramid took out the loan from JPMorgan Chase in 2014 to finance Destiny USA’s expansion. It has only made interest payments and failed to refinance or repay the principal as required, due in part to the mall’s declining value amid retail closures and e-commerce growth.
Recall about a month and a half ago we highlighted that at the end of Q4 2024, commercial real estate continued to exhibit severe weakness, with commercial real estate bonds hitting record distress levels, surpassing the previous records reached in Q3 2024.
Commercial real estate bonds are just commercial real estate loans packaged into securities and sold to investors. One category of bonds, commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), saw their distress rate increase to 10.6 percent, a fourth consecutive monthly record.
Most notably, in the CMBS category—which comprises approximately $625 billion in outstanding commercial real estate debt—loans on office properties now exhibit a distress rate above 17 percent while apartment loan distress accelerated to 12.5 percent.
While loans underlying CMBS bonds—which are generally longer-term and fixed-rate—appear woefully insolvent, another group of bonds comprising short-term floating-rate commercial real estate loans are even worse.
One Of The Largest Malls In The U.S. Just Defaulted On Its $300 Million Mortgage
Destiny USA, New York’s largest mall and one of the biggest in the U.S., has defaulted on a $300 million mortgage, according to Syracuse.com.
Its owner, Carousel Center Co., failed to secure an extension when the loan matured on June 6 of last year, according to recent financial filings.
The Syracuse.com report says that after failing to extend its loan maturity, Destiny USA’s $300 million mortgage is now in default, with the full balance of $325.2 million—including $25.2 million in deferred interest—immediately due, according to an independent audit.
The lender terminated its forbearance agreement, raising the threat of foreclosure, as seen with two other Pyramid-owned malls last year.
Pyramid is negotiating a deal to extend the loan to Dec. 6, 2025, in exchange for a $1.1 million “consent fee,” but auditors warn there’s no guarantee of success. As they put it: “These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
Pyramid took out the loan from JPMorgan Chase in 2014 to finance Destiny USA’s expansion. It has only made interest payments and failed to refinance or repay the principal as required, due in part to the mall’s declining value amid retail closures and e-commerce growth.
Recall about a month and a half ago we highlighted that at the end of Q4 2024, commercial real estate continued to exhibit severe weakness, with commercial real estate bonds hitting record distress levels, surpassing the previous records reached in Q3 2024.
Commercial real estate bonds are just commercial real estate loans packaged into securities and sold to investors. One category of bonds, commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), saw their distress rate increase to 10.6 percent, a fourth consecutive monthly record.
Most notably, in the CMBS category—which comprises approximately $625 billion in outstanding commercial real estate debt—loans on office properties now exhibit a distress rate above 17 percent while apartment loan distress accelerated to 12.5 percent.
While loans underlying CMBS bonds—which are generally longer-term and fixed-rate—appear woefully insolvent, another group of bonds comprising short-term floating-rate commercial real estate loans are even worse.
Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer, on Tuesday acknowledged that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division over the national increase in egg prices.
The brief admission in its newest financial report made headlines and the company’s shares fell by about 4 percent in after-hours trading.
“In March 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand in connection with a widely publicized investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into the causes behind nationwide increases in egg prices,” Cal-Maine said in its financial report for its third quarter on Tuesday. “The Company is cooperating with the investigation.”
Egg prices have hit record highs in recent months, largely due to a bird flu epidemic that has forced farmers to slaughter more than 166 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens.
One dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4 percent from a year ago. That eclipsed January’s record-high price of $4.95.
The Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine accounts for roughly 20 percent of the nation’s egg supply.
New Earnings Report
Cal-Maine released its financial result for its third quarter, which ended March 1, on Tuesday showing it hatched robust earnings: $508 million, or $10.38 per share, a 245 percent jump from earnings of $146.4 million, or $3.01 per share, a year ago. It reported sales of $1.4 billion in the quarter, up 99 percent from $703.1 million year over year.
Cal-Maine also announced that it signed an agreement before the end of the third quarter to acquire Echo Lake Foods for about $258 million.
Commenting on the results, Cal-Maine President and CEO Sherman Miller said dynamic market conditions, which led to record-high egg prices and bird flu-related shortages, persisted throughout the quarter.
Miller said that, despite the challenging supply environment, the company was able to benefit from its existing size plus recent acquisitions to increase capacity. “Above all, we stayed focused on meeting the needs of our valued customers, while honoring our longstanding pricing frameworks,” he said in a statement.
Record-high egg prices have become such an economic issue that President Donald Trump requested U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to lay out a comprehensive plan in late February to bring down the prices. The increase was driven by avian flu, which forced farmers to cull more than 166 million birds in the month, mostly egg-laying chickens.
“Alongside our own efforts to address the current supply situation, we greatly appreciate the current administration’s recently announced plan to address the volatility in our vital industry,” Miller said.
“It is clear the (Trump) administration recognizes the importance of eggs as a low-cost, high-value, unprocessed protein for feeding our nation’s families.”
Company officials said the strong third-quarter performance was primarily driven by an 80.7 percent increase in net average selling price per dozen eggs and a 10.2 percent increase in volume.
For the quarter, Cal-Maine’s net average selling price per dozen was $4.06 compared with $2.247 a year ago. The company sold a record 331.4 million dozen shell eggs, representing a 10.2 percent increase, including the contribution from acquisitions, compared with 300.8 million dozen for the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Sales of conventional eggs totaled 213.2 million dozen, compared with 192.2 million dozen for the prior-year period, an increase of 11.0 percent.
Concerning the Echo Lake acquisition, Miller said the deal represents “an exciting growth opportunity and important inflection point for Cal-Maine Foods,” allowing the Mississippi egg producer to diversify its product portfolio and customer mix.
“Echo Lake Foods is a leading innovator with a long history of providing quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods to a blue-chip customer base,” Miller said.
“The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers.”
Founded in 1941, Burlington, Wisconsin-based Echo Lake produces ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, including waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, frozen cooked omelets, egg patties, toast, and diced hardboiled eggs. In 2024, Echo Lake had annual revenues of about $240 million, with a five-year annual growth of approximately 10 percent.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Cal-Maine officials say the industry is prone to volatility due to external factors such as bird flu, rising production costs, and changes in consumer demand.
Nationwide, egg costs rose to record highs in late February, when retail prices spiked to $5.90 in most U.S. cities. In the monthly Consumer Price Index report on March 12, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the index for food increased 0.2 percent in February, driven primarily by an outsized 10.4 percent increase in the index for eggs.
During the price run-up, retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Costco limited the number of eggs customers could purchase. Since then, prices have steadily declined, falling below an average of $3 a dozen last week, USDA market data show.
As the key barometer for inflation, the CPI measures changes in the price level of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services that most U.S. households purchase. Through February, the annual inflation rate in the United States eased to 2.8 percent from 3 percent in January, below market expectations of 2.9 percent.
During the trading session on April 8 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Cal-Maine shares fell in tandem with the broader sell-off on Wall Street. At the closing bell, the stock was down $3.12, or 3.34 percent, at $90.33, with more than 1.9 million shares traded, twice the normal volume.
Cal-Maine Foods Inc., the nation’s largest egg producer, on Tuesday acknowledged that it is being investigated by the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division over the national increase in egg prices.
The brief admission in its newest financial report made headlines and the company’s shares fell by about 4 percent in after-hours trading.
“In March 2025, the Company received a civil investigative demand in connection with a widely publicized investigation by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice into the causes behind nationwide increases in egg prices,” Cal-Maine said in its financial report for its third quarter on Tuesday. “The Company is cooperating with the investigation.”
Egg prices have hit record highs in recent months, largely due to a bird flu epidemic that has forced farmers to slaughter more than 166 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens.
One dozen Grade A eggs cost an average of $5.90 in U.S. cities in February, up 10.4 percent from a year ago. That eclipsed January’s record-high price of $4.95.
The Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine accounts for roughly 20 percent of the nation’s egg supply.
New Earnings Report
Cal-Maine released its financial result for its third quarter, which ended March 1, on Tuesday showing it hatched robust earnings: $508 million, or $10.38 per share, a 245 percent jump from earnings of $146.4 million, or $3.01 per share, a year ago. It reported sales of $1.4 billion in the quarter, up 99 percent from $703.1 million year over year.
Cal-Maine also announced that it signed an agreement before the end of the third quarter to acquire Echo Lake Foods for about $258 million.
Commenting on the results, Cal-Maine President and CEO Sherman Miller said dynamic market conditions, which led to record-high egg prices and bird flu-related shortages, persisted throughout the quarter.
Miller said that, despite the challenging supply environment, the company was able to benefit from its existing size plus recent acquisitions to increase capacity. “Above all, we stayed focused on meeting the needs of our valued customers, while honoring our longstanding pricing frameworks,” he said in a statement.
Record-high egg prices have become such an economic issue that President Donald Trump requested U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to lay out a comprehensive plan in late February to bring down the prices. The increase was driven by avian flu, which forced farmers to cull more than 166 million birds in the month, mostly egg-laying chickens.
“Alongside our own efforts to address the current supply situation, we greatly appreciate the current administration’s recently announced plan to address the volatility in our vital industry,” Miller said.
“It is clear the (Trump) administration recognizes the importance of eggs as a low-cost, high-value, unprocessed protein for feeding our nation’s families.”
Company officials said the strong third-quarter performance was primarily driven by an 80.7 percent increase in net average selling price per dozen eggs and a 10.2 percent increase in volume.
For the quarter, Cal-Maine’s net average selling price per dozen was $4.06 compared with $2.247 a year ago. The company sold a record 331.4 million dozen shell eggs, representing a 10.2 percent increase, including the contribution from acquisitions, compared with 300.8 million dozen for the third quarter of fiscal 2024. Sales of conventional eggs totaled 213.2 million dozen, compared with 192.2 million dozen for the prior-year period, an increase of 11.0 percent.
Concerning the Echo Lake acquisition, Miller said the deal represents “an exciting growth opportunity and important inflection point for Cal-Maine Foods,” allowing the Mississippi egg producer to diversify its product portfolio and customer mix.
“Echo Lake Foods is a leading innovator with a long history of providing quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods to a blue-chip customer base,” Miller said.
“The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers.”
Founded in 1941, Burlington, Wisconsin-based Echo Lake produces ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, including waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, frozen cooked omelets, egg patties, toast, and diced hardboiled eggs. In 2024, Echo Lake had annual revenues of about $240 million, with a five-year annual growth of approximately 10 percent.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, Cal-Maine officials say the industry is prone to volatility due to external factors such as bird flu, rising production costs, and changes in consumer demand.
Nationwide, egg costs rose to record highs in late February, when retail prices spiked to $5.90 in most U.S. cities. In the monthly Consumer Price Index report on March 12, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the index for food increased 0.2 percent in February, driven primarily by an outsized 10.4 percent increase in the index for eggs.
During the price run-up, retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Costco limited the number of eggs customers could purchase. Since then, prices have steadily declined, falling below an average of $3 a dozen last week, USDA market data show.
As the key barometer for inflation, the CPI measures changes in the price level of a weighted average market basket of consumer goods and services that most U.S. households purchase. Through February, the annual inflation rate in the United States eased to 2.8 percent from 3 percent in January, below market expectations of 2.9 percent.
During the trading session on April 8 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, Cal-Maine shares fell in tandem with the broader sell-off on Wall Street. At the closing bell, the stock was down $3.12, or 3.34 percent, at $90.33, with more than 1.9 million shares traded, twice the normal volume.
