Hog slaughter running high in the US

In recent weeks hog slaughter has been running above expectations. The heavy weight market hog inventory in USDA's December Hogs and Pigs report implied slaughter would be down 1.9% over the last eight weeks. Actual hog slaughter was down only 0.3%. The higher-than-predicted hog slaughter could be due to winter weather disrupting hog flow or more likely to a surplus of hogs relative to expectations. Ron Plain The increased hog slaughter appears to be having a negative impact on hog prices. It looks like January hog prices will come in below those in December. The futures market expects hog prices to increase each month til July then to decline each month until the year ends. Ron Plain Hog prices in December averaged $58.96/cwt for 51-52% lean (live weight). That was the lowest month since January 2022. For the year, 51-52% lean hogs averaged $71.13/cwt (live weight) the highest since 2014. USDA is predicting an average of $68/cwt in 2023. Per capita pork consumption averaged 51.1 ...