ZM Futures (Soybean Meal): Tick Value, Expiries, Order Flow
ZM, the CBOT Soybean Meal future, covers 100 short tons with a tick of $0.10 per short ton, worth $10. ZMV6, the front month on September 25, 2026, has its first notice day September 30, 2026 and last trading day October 14, 2026.
Senzoukria · Futures contracts · Updated September 2026
Contract specifications
- Exchange
- CBOT (CME Group)
- Contract unit
- 100 short tons
- Tick size
- $0.10 per short ton
- Tick value
- $10
- Value of one dollar per ton
- $100
- Listed months in Senzoukria
- F, H, K, N, Q, U, V, Z (Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Dec)
- Last trading day
- Business day before the 15th of the contract month
- Settlement
- Physical delivery
- Front month on Sep 25, 2026
- ZMV6
ZM contract specifications
The contract unit is 100 short tons, quoted in dollars per short ton. The minimum fluctuation is $0.10 per short ton, worth $10 per contract, and one dollar per ton is worth $100 per contract. Open contracts are settled by delivery no later than the second business day after the last trading day. Senzoukria's contract table holds the tick as 0.1 with a multiplier of 100 on the CBOT venue code.
ZM last trading day and next contracts
No trades are made after the business day preceding the 15th calendar day of the contract month.
Senzoukria's expiry engine keys on the last trading day, not on first notice day, so its default switch comes after first notice. For ZMV6, the default moves to the next listed month on October 10, 2026 (4 calendar days before October 14, 2026), and ZMV6 stays selectable with its badge until that date.
| Contract | Delivery month | First notice day | Last trading day |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZMV6 | October 2026 | Sep 30, 2026 (Wed) | Oct 14, 2026 (Wed) |
| ZMZ6 | December 2026 | Nov 30, 2026 (Mon) | Dec 14, 2026 (Mon) |
| ZMF7 | January 2027 | Dec 31, 2026 (Thu) | Jan 14, 2027 (Thu) |
| ZMH7 | March 2027 | Feb 26, 2027 (Fri) | Mar 12, 2027 (Fri) |
| ZMK7 | May 2027 | Apr 30, 2027 (Fri) | May 14, 2027 (Fri) |
ZM tick value and P&L arithmetic
- One tick = 0.1 × $100 = $10 per contract.
- One dollar per ton = 10 ticks = $100 per contract.
- 20 ticks (2 dollars) = $200 per contract, $600 on 3 contracts.
- One tick of slippage in the automatic backtest costs $10 per contract on each entry.
Reading ZM order flow
With row resolution off, a ZM footprint has one row per tick of 0.1 dollars. The fixed steps give 2 ticks = 0.2, 4 ticks = 0.4, 8 ticks = 0.8, 16 ticks = 1.6, 32 ticks = 3.2 dollars per row.
Soybean meal is priced in dollars per short ton on 100 tons, with a ten-cent tick worth $10; a one-dollar move is 10 ticks and $100. Ten is not a power of two, so no fixed row step gives exactly one dollar per row (8 ticks are $0.80, 16 are $1.60).
Using ZM in Senzoukria
- Symbol picker on a Rithmic or Databento CME source: type ZM; on September 25, 2026 the listed contract is ZMV6 (October 2026), in the Grains family.
- Heatmap and DOM show that contract's book with CBOT as the venue in the ladder header.
- Replay lists ZM in the Grains group. In the automatic backtest, set Point value ($) to 100; the field defaults to 2, the MNQ value.
Related pages
- ZL — Soybean Oil
- Tick value
- Front-month contract
- Front month and expiry rules in Senzoukria
- Symbol picker
- Footprint charts
In the same section
Sources
- CBOT Rulebook, Chapter 13: Soybean Meal futures (2026-09-25)
- CME Group, Soybean Meal futures calendar (2026-09-25)
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Frequently asked questions
- How much is one ZM tick worth?
- $10. The tick is $0.10 per short ton on 100 short tons; in Senzoukria's units that is 0.1 × $100 = $10.
- Why is ZM priced per ton when ZS is priced per bushel?
- Because the contracts deliver different products: 5,000 bushels of soybeans for ZS, 100 short tons of meal for ZM. The rulebook quotes each in its own unit, and Senzoukria's table follows it (ZS tick 0.25 cent, ZM tick $0.10).