2/22/19 was down -0.48 to 52.92. The JJJs settled premium to the component by +0.98. The market is hinting the downtrend is about to end. I noticed that last week's kill was revised downward and yesterday's kill was quite weak. But I don't know why. If it is because packers didn't have the hogs, that is a good sign for producers. If a plant was down or there were weather problems that is not a good sign because it backs hogs up and more pounds are added on. At any rate, cutouts being up +1.91 was a good sign for producers. It was also a good sign for Dewey and me!
The 6-day moving average carcass weight was steady at 215.60#. That is only +0.56# yr/yr. Index hogs were a bit lighter at 214.42# and that was down a little. Packer hogs are running 3.74# heavier than non-packer hogs. The kill mix continues to be made up of a higher percentage of packer-hogs. These numbers continue to point to increased vertical integration by packers who seem to want to control more hogs from conception to the retailers cases.
Best wishes,
dhm