March 13, 2007

US Midwest hogs trade mostly steady
 

US Midwest cash hogs were trading mostly steady Monday (March 12) as pork plants appear to need hogs for late this week and supply may be a bit tighter than forecast, dealers said.

An increase in supplies developed when snowstorms two weeks ago had producers postponing hog shipments. Since then, those hogs have been coming to market, but apparently not as many as dealers had expected.

Firm pork prices also have helped keep hog prices near unchanged.

USDA on Friday (March 9) estimated the Composite Pork Cutout Value at US$68.85 per hundredweight (cwt), up 99 cents from Thursday.

The average pork plant profit margin for Monday was estimated at US$11.65 per head, compared with US$6.00 on Friday and US$3.50 a week ago.

Iowa and southern Minnesota hogs were trading about steady at US$46.00 per cwt delivered to pork plants.

Illinois hogs traded steady at about US$45.00 delivered to pork plants.

Indiana hogs were steady at US$44.00 delivered to plants and US$43.00 at country points.