Excerpts from the report: The Economic Research Service is in the midst of a study of packers' efficiency and expenses in fresh (uncured) pork operations. This study is part of the program conducted by the ERS to suggest ways to improve marketing service and reduce costs. This article is a preliminary report of a first phase of the analysis. In this study a large group of independent meat packers with plants located mostly in the Northeast, North Central and South, voluntarily maintained detailed accounting records and submitted monthly reports on their fresh pork operations. Items reported included costs in detail, man-hours, wage rates and fringe benefits, volume (both weights and numbers), value and yields. Most of the 22 firms that reported for the full year were located in Mid-Atlantic and East North Central States. Some large-volume plants were included, but none of the large national packers were among the reporting group. Volume of pork cut per plant ranged from 2 million pounds to 142 million pounds annually. This preliminary analysis was limited to fresh pork operations.