side the State, but their purchases are more than offset by the oper- 

 ations of dealers from Massachusetts and New Hampshire who buy in 

 Vermont. The numlier of assemblers operating in the State is small. 



Rhode Island. Although poultry production is small, and strongly ori- 

 ented toward market eggs, the State is deficit, and heavily-populated. 

 The number of assemblers is larger in relation to volume than in Ver- 

 mont. This results in a relatively greater role for the older types of 

 firms. A few out-of-state firms buy in Rhode Island, and most Rhode 

 Island firms also assemble poultry in other States. 



Connecticut. Although poultry production is highly-commercialized 

 and broilers predominate, the State is heavily-populated. The role of 

 older types of assemlily firms and producers engaged in direct market- 

 ing is large. Since the State is surplus, it attracts many out-of-state buy- 

 ers. A small proportion of buyers resident to Connecticut seek supplies 

 outside the State. The number of assembly firms in Connecticut is large, 

 but more than 75 percent of the volume in the State is hauled by a 

 limited number of newer types of firms. 



Massachusetts. The assembly system in Massachusetts is somewhat 

 parallel to that in Connecticut, with newer types of assembly firms 

 handling more than three-fourths of the output. Since Massachusetts is 

 deficit, many of the large number of resident firms seek supplies in 

 adjacent States. Despite a substantial production of poultry meat, with 

 supplies of broilers exceeding those of fowl, relatively few out-of-state 

 firms buy in Massachusetts. 



The Effect of Declining Resources in the Assembly System 



During 1951-57 the number of firms licensed by State departments 

 of agriculture to haul live poultry in New England declined 55 percent. 

 The number of poultry trucks similarly licensed declined 47 percent. 

 The number of one-truck firms declined 58 percent; firms with 2 to 6 

 trucks, 53 percent. Firms with 7 or more trucks increased in number, 

 and the average number of trucks per firm increased. 



Output of poultry meat in New England increased about one-third 

 from 1951 to 1957. Hence, over the 6-year period, average volume of 

 poultry hauled per licensed firm almost tripled and average volume per 

 licensed truck increased 21/2 times. These increases in volume per firm 

 and per truck helped reduce assembly costs. Higher labor efficiency re- 

 sulted from handling fewer but larger lots of poultry and from the use 

 of larger crews. Travel time was reduced through localization of the 

 assembly function. Furthermore, contract production permitted econo- 

 mies through better truck-route organization and location of producing 

 units, but full exploitation of these possibilities has not yet been 

 achieved. 



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