Historically low market hog prices resulted in negative returns for nearly all producers in the 1998 ISU Swine Business Record State Summary. Average margin over all costs/cwt of pork produced was negative for all profit groups. Producers in the top 10% and top one-third profit groups achieve the best combination of efficient production levels and lower-than-average production costs. Producers in these profit groups had lower than average production costs/cwt in all feed and nonfeed categories in the 1998 State Summary. These advantages are due to improved management, genetics, and effective implementation of new technologies. Producers in the top 10% profit group had a small advantage in market price received compared with the average of all producers in the program, and a significant advantage over the bottom one-third profit group.