Too many fat pigs makes hog futures the biggest loser

Chicago

HAM, bacon, ribs, pork loins - if it has to do with pigs, prices are in the doldrums.

Hog futures were the worst investment in commodities last quarter and in the past year. That's because there are simply too many pigs. They are so numerous these days that slaughterhouses will have to add shifts and operate on Saturdays in November and December to process them all into food, according to Will Sawyer, an Atlanta-based vice-president for Rabobank International.