and small dealers in local areas will 

 slow down the transition to bulk 

 assembly within any milkshed. To 

 this extent the total possible gains in 

 the milkshed are reduced, but until 

 the competitive position of these 

 dealers and producers changes by 

 the action of other dealers or by a 

 shift in local pricing techniques then 

 change to bulk assembly will be de- 

 layed. 



7. Effects on Trucking 

 Industry 



With the adoption of bulk milk 

 assembly in a milkshed. there will 

 be basic changes in the structure of 

 the transportation industry. 



The displacement of trucks for 

 carrying cans by specialized milk 

 tank trucks poses a financing prob- 

 lem to the trucker. The general 

 tendency in the past for milk truckers 

 to be independent operators suggests 

 that some attempt will be made by 

 many truckers and dealers to retain 

 this ownership pattern. Certainly 

 there are numerous self-employed 

 truckers who, like various other small 

 businessmen, have a strong desire to 

 go on working in a comparatively in- 

 dependent way rather than to become 

 employees. At the same time, many 

 milk dealers prefer not to have to 

 concern themselves with transporta- 

 tion problems. There are certain 

 characteristics of can and tank truck- 

 ing, however, which must be con- 

 sidered. 



8. Milk Trucking More 

 Specialized 



As noted above, truckers of milk 

 in cans from farms to dealers may or 

 may not be full-time truckers. There 

 are a number of self-truckers, i.e., 

 farmers who haul their own milk to 

 the dealer to save on transportation. 

 There are many truck owners who 

 have other jobs such as mailman, or 

 driver of the school bus, or who haul 



other products on their trucks. The 

 efficient utilization of tank trucks to 

 carry the greatest quantity of milk 

 for the least distance presupposes 

 that such trucks are in use tor the 

 lull work day. Milk assembly by tank 

 truck with its increased responsibili- 

 ties is a full-time job. Hauling milk 

 would disappear as a supplementary 

 source of income for local owner- 

 drivers of trucks and as a means for 

 dairy farmers to hold down expenses. 

 The initial purchase of a tank 

 truck, with its lack of alternative 

 uses, is a major investment tied in 

 closely with potential income from 

 hauling milk. The trucker loses not 

 only the opportunity to obtain sup- 

 plementary income from an invest- 

 ment in a single truck by trucking 

 other commodities but also his op- 

 portunity for readily shifting out of 

 milk trucking altogether. He becomes 

 more closely tied to a single source 

 of livelihood so long as he retains 

 his tank truck. Hence dealers may 

 need to provide some guarantee of 

 minimum earnings as an inducement 

 for the trucker to retain the truck 

 ownership responsibilities. This 

 agreement may be a formal contract, 

 which heretofore has been non-exist- 

 ent, or it may be an income guaran- 

 tee derived from additional work for 

 the trucker in the plant or on inter- 

 plant hauls. 



9. Greater Dealer Controls 



There will be cases when the dealer 

 must own the truck and hire the 

 driver, particularly if the earnings 

 are not attractive enough because of 

 location and size of producers. How- 

 ever, even without outright dealer 

 ownership of the truck the dealer- 

 trucker relationships will change fun- 

 damentally from what they have 

 been. Efficient operation means a con- 

 tinual reorganization of routes to 

 meet changing supply conditions. 

 This will require some central di- 

 rection and control. The tank trucker 



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