We investigate thinness of hog and pork markets in terms of quantity andrepresentativeness of negotiated transactions. Transactional volume impartsmarginally greater confidence in pricing precision for Iowa-SouthernMinnesota negotiated hogs than for the national carcass cut-out, suggestingthat contracts tying prices to the former rather than the latter may be morerepresentative of industry conditions. Extending mandatory price reportingto pork may remedy this discrepancy. Despite declining volume, terminal hogmarkets may price accurately off of Iowa-Southern Minnesota prices. Hogquality differentials across procurement methods are documented, and qualityof negotiated hogs is shown to decline with declining volume.
