The backbone of mainstream pork retail. 17 to 24 percent of carcass weight depending on fabrication. Bone-in loin, boneless loin, center-cut, tenderloin, and country-style ribs. Live USDA AMS prices for every loin sub-primal, updated every business day.
Source: USDA AMS National Daily Boxed Pork Cutout, Negotiated Sales (LM_PK602). Click any row for the full chart, multi-year history, and seasonal context.
About the pork loin
The pork loin runs along the top of the carcass and is one of the two largest primals, accounting for roughly 17 to 24 percent of carcass weight depending on fabrication and trim. The major sub-primals are the bone-in pork loin (IMPS 410), the boneless pork loin (IMPS 413), the center-cut loin (IMPS 412), the tenderloin (IMPS 415), and the country-style ribs, which technically come off the loin's blade end rather than the rib primal.
Pork loin is the backbone of mainstream pork retail. Boneless loins flow into chops and roasts, country-style ribs into BBQ programs, and tenderloins into a smaller but premium value-added segment. Loin pricing is closely tied to retail feature timing, and the loin is one of the more demand-led primals because of it.
Loin sub-primals print daily in the USDA AMS National Daily Pork Carcass Cutout report (LM_PK602). Pork does not carry a Choice/Select grade split the way beef does; loin lines report as single weighted-average prints with weight-band variants where the buyer base cares about size (boneless loin combos in particular).
Frequently asked
What is the most valuable cut from the pork loin?
Backribs 2.0#/up 1 Piece Vacuum-packed, Frozen is the highest-priced loin sub-primal at $2.70/lb as of 2026-10-13, from the USDA AMS National Daily Boxed Pork Cutout report (LM_PK602).
What's driving pork loin prices today?
Average $1.41/lb across 18 sub-primals Composite is down 1.4% week over week and running 6.0% below its usual level for this time of year.
Are pork loin prices reported by grade?
No. Unlike beef, USDA does not publish a Choice/Select grade split for pork. Each loin sub-primal reports as a single weighted-average daily print on the USDA AMS National Daily Pork Carcass Cutout report (LM_PK602), with weight-band variants where buyers care about portion size.