Discover the key trends and the latest data impacting the meat industry, so you can make informed and strategic decisions.

Notes: unless otherwise noted, comments correspond to the week ending November 29^th, 2024.

1. Week Summary:

This Week's Story

• The Cutout closed at $0.91, down $0.03 from last week but $0.06 higher year-over-year.
• Meat production totaled 493 million pounds, 57 million pounds less than last week but 89 million pounds more than the same period in 2023, with a weekly kill of 2.3 million head, significantly lower week-over-week and year-over-year.
• Dressed weights remained stable at 215 pounds per head.
• Swine prices rose to $0.87, up $0.04 from last week and $0.29 higher year-over-year.
• Gross packer margins were estimated at $28.1 per head, down $0.6 from the previous week and $41.1 lower than last year.

Cutouts                  

The Cutout closed at $0.91, three cents lower compared to the previous week and six cents higher than the same week last year (See chart).

Meat Production

Meat production under federal inspection was 493 million pounds, 57 million pounds less compared to the previous week and 89 million pounds more than the same week in 2023 (See chart).

• The weekly kill was 2.3 million head, 272 thousand head lower compared to the prior week and 394 thousand head lower compared to the same week in 2023.
• Dressed weights remained steady at 215 pounds per head.

Swine Prices

Prices of swine closed at $0.87, four cents higher than the previous week and 29 cents higher than the same week in 2023 (See chart).

Gross Packer Margins

Our estimate for Gross Packer Margins for the week was $28.1 per head, $0.6 lower than the previous week, and $41.1 lower than the same week in 2023.

*Gross Packer Margin data is only available in our Advanced Analytics suite.

Exports

The reported figure for the week ending 11/21/2024 was 62.2 million pounds, 8.4 million pounds lower than the prior week, and 0.65 million pounds higher than the same week in 2023.

* Exports data is only available in our Easy Analytics suite and Advanced Analytics suite.

2. Looking Ahead:

Lean Hogs Futures for December 2024 contracts closed at $0.82. For February 2025 contracts the price closed at $0.86. 

Our 8-week forecast puts the Cutout price at $1.05, 14 cents higher than the $0.91 for the current week (See chart).

* Forecasts for specific meats cuts are only available in our Advanced Analytics suite.

3. Mark Your Calendar - Industry Events Coming Up:

EVENT	DATES	LOCATIONS
Banff Pork Seminar	January 7-9, 2025	Banff, Alberta, Canada
Iowa Pork Congress	January 22-23, 2025	Des Moines, Iowa, USA
IPPE 2025	January 28-30, 2025	Atlanta, Georgia, USA

You can find a more comprehensive list of industry events in our Events section.

For more details you may consult EMEAT's Weekly Commodity Recap.