46 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



It is understood that various firms in Atlanta and other near-by 

 southern cities receive weekly shipments from Boston by less-than- 

 carload express, and that express companies have found that trade 

 to be of sufficient magnitude to warrant devoting an entire car to 

 the business. However, individual consignees are charged the less- 

 than-carload tariff rate, while express companies make the shipments 

 in carlots. It is interesting to note that forwarding firms have 

 representatives in Boston and New York City that make a business 

 of assembling less-than-carload shipments of fishery products destined 

 for the same general locality and forwarding in carload lots at the 

 corresponding lower transportation tarift' rate. Southern dealers who 

 receive less-than-carlot tshipments from Boston and New York City 

 might find it to their advantage possibly to pool their shipments into 

 carlots. Car-opening privileges en route make this method of 

 shipping especially desirable. 



Freight shipments .—Freight shipments may be received over five 

 main routes. The terminal team tracks of these routes are from 

 within one-fourth mile to 1 mile of the majority of the wholesale 

 houses. Three wholesale firms have spur tracks beside their estab- 

 lishments, and carload shipments may be handled directly between 

 freight cars and their shipping rooms. Cartage service between 

 terminal team tracks and fish dealers' stores is performed by ship- 

 pers or receivers when necessar}". 



Several dealers in Atlanta are making use of a combination water 

 and rail route from points of production in an effort to reduce trans- 

 portation costs. By this method products from Boston are trans- 

 ported by boat to Norfolk, Va. Here they are combined A^ith 

 products from Norfolk and forwarded in carlots to Atlanta, where 

 the car is partly or entirely unloaded. If partly unloaded, the rest 

 of the shipment is sent to points farther south or west. 



DISTRIBUTION 



During 1927 fish dealers in Atlanta distributed 387,000 pounds, 

 or about 8 per cent of the fishery products that they received. Of 

 this amoimt, 202,000 pounds was sent to the district within 25 miles 

 of Atlanta, 145,000 pounds to more remote sections of Georgia, and 

 40,000 pounds to Alabama, x4.ll were forwarded by less-than-carload 

 express. Products reshipped consisted mainly of mullet, croaker, 

 sea trout, and Spanish mackerel. 



From this it is seen that while Atlanta is considered one of the 

 important distribution centers in the South for various forms of 

 merchandise, fish dealers distribute but a small amount of fishery 

 products outside of the city limits. This condition did not always 

 exist, for in former years dealers in Atlanta distributed large quan- 

 tities of fish over a wide area. At that time producers were not 

 prone to ship their products in small lots to inland dealers. How- 

 ever, with speedier and more regidar transportation service between 

 producing centers and consuming localities, producers in the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States especially have begun to act as their own 

 distributors and forward in lots as small as 15 pounds to inland points. 

 In this way the producer is able to trade direct with the retailer or 

 consumer, and the differential in costs to the trade makes it attrac- 

 tive. In some instances producers will deal with both wholesalers 

 and retailers in the same city. 



