It was another week of record-setting hog slaughter south of the border.
The 2.53 million hogs processed topped the former record set just two weeks ago by about 8,000 head.
Ron Plain of the University of Missouri points out the big numbers are a result of plants in North Carolina becoming operational for the first time since Hurricane Matthew damaged them.
They provided producers with an additional slaughter day on Sunday, boosting already huge numbers.
The week's slaughter ended up 5.5 per cent from the previous week and up 7.2 per cent from 2015.
Plain also notes hog futures were down by 65 cents on the week for December. February ended the week $1.02 and a half lower while April dropped by $1.25.
The national negotiated barrow and gilt price average $42.71, which is a decline of $1.38 from the week prior.
Canadian slaughter is now up a full two per cent from this time last year.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada report pork production to be up 2.6 per cent, indicating heavier weights this year as well.
While U.S. slaughter numbers are up by 1.6 per cent from 2015, lighter weights have led to an overall production increase of just 1.0 per cent.
