MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 363 



CARTAGE SERVICE IN THE SECTION 

 Routes Operated 



Twelve dealers purchased milk in the section during January 1935. A separate 

 collection route served the shippers of each distributor. Eight of the routes 

 were operated by the dealer, two by contract carriers, and two by producer- 

 truckers. Only one change occurred in the number of routes operated during 

 the year: one dealer dropped his producers and gave up the route "because the 

 supply was too far from his plant." 



The average daily volume trucked out of the section in January 1935 was 

 15,703 pounds. The size of loads ranged from 344 to 3,064 pounds. The total 

 number of producers shipping was 112 and the number per load ranged from 

 2 to 28. The volume per load and number of producers per load are shown in 

 Table 2. 



Table 2. — Average Daily Volume Handled, Producers Served, and 



Dealers Receiving Milk by Original and Reorganized Routes 



January 1935 



Original Routes 



Reorganized Routes 



Volume Producers 

 (Pounds) 



West field 3,035 



West Route 3,159 



East Route 6,201 



D 2,144 



Truck own 221 



Producers 



unlocated 



943 



15,703 



112 



Variations in the size of the load from month to month are of especial signi- 

 ficance to the carrier and of some significance to the producer. The facilities 

 provided by the carrier are dependent on the maximum daily load delivered by 

 the producers on the route. Extreme variation in deliveries by patrons means 

 much unused truck capacity during a large part of the year, even though over- 

 loading may be practiced during the period of heavy shipments. The cost of 

 maintaining peak-load equipment must be met either in terms of higher cartage 

 rates to producers or lower net income to carriers. 



Figure 3 shows clearly for a two-year period the seasonal variation in milk 

 load on nine routes operating out of the section. The routes of the flat price 

 plan dealers show no practical variation. Their loads are also very small. Three 

 of the remaining routes do not show too wide variation in loads, whereas the 

 last three, B, D and F, show marked change with an apparent trend. 



