tank truck per day was $7.87 — 

 only 43c more than for the consider- 

 ably less expensive vehicles which 

 assembled milk in cans. 



The difference between can and 

 tank trucks, as to how much profit 

 they yielded, is unavoidably affected 

 to an unknown extent by the sup- 

 plementary payments from dealers to 

 truckers. The revenue figures in this 

 study, and hence the profit figures, 

 omit any supplementary payments by 

 dealers to truckers. But the 5c differ- 

 ence in milk assembly costs per cwt., 

 as between can and tank trucks, is 

 not affected by this unknown factor 

 and can be the basis for a continued 

 difference in the trucking rates 

 charged for the 2 modes of assembly. 



3. Continued Lower Rates 

 for Tank Assembly 



The lower rates per cwt. for milk 

 assembled in bulk as compared to 

 the rates on milk assembled in cans, 

 noted above in Chapter X, would 

 probably disappear on most routes 

 as the supply of milk in farm tanks 

 increases — if this rate advantage 

 stemmed solely from the dealers' 

 supplementary payments to truckers. 



Even if the greater number of ar- 

 rangements for such payments to 

 truckers proves to have been used 

 only during the transition to bulk 

 assembly, there will probably con- 

 tinue to be some arrangements of this 

 sort, between dealers and tank truck- 

 ers, when conversion in any given 

 area is complete. Just as some deal- 

 ers who receive milk in cans have 

 given a gross-income guarantee to 

 truckers in order to avoid one type 

 of breakdown in milk supply — a 

 breakdown for lack of transportation 

 - so also it is likely that some deal- 

 ers will be willing to give such 

 guarantees to tank truckers even after 

 the transition phase is passed. 



However, at that time the rates 

 charged by truckers are likely to be 

 a function of their costs and of the 

 competition for their services. The 

 investment in a tank truck means in- 

 vestment in a more specialized piece 

 of equipment than the truck used for 

 can pick up. This may reduce the 

 number of truckers in milk assem- 

 bly, which could in turn reduce com- 

 petition between them and improve 

 route organization. Their ability to 

 charge higher rates would be im- 

 proved. Nevertheless, tank truck rates 



Table 34. Average Cost and Profit: 

 Six Tank Trucks Used in Milk Assembly 1 



1 For cost details see Appendix I, Table 44. All figures in Tables 34 and 44 omit 

 any supplementary payments by dealers to truckers. The truckers owning vehicles 

 5 and 6 said they were receiving such payments. 



2 Each truck served 2 routes, covering each route every other day. 



36 



