SHIPPING MASSACHUSETTS APPLES 9 



hauls, where he can get into the market and home again in half a day or less, the 

 grower usually operates his own truck. Seventy per cent of the trucks made the 

 round trip in less than six hours. 



Fifteen per cent of the trucks were on the road from six to twelve hours. Some 

 of these were grower operated and some were hired. Fourteen per cent of the 

 trucks made overnight trips one way. In all instances these trucks were hired. 



The growers were questioned as to why one kind of carrier was used in preference 

 to another. Although in a few instances answers were made with much feeling, 

 the favorable attitude towards trucking was commonly based on sound reasons, 



The matter of careful handling is the important consideration. Statistically 

 this factor does not stand in first place but ranks second. Some growers neglected 

 to suggest careful handling as a factor to be considered when choosing a carrier, 

 since they probably assumed that this was an accepted principle. In addition to 

 handling apples carefully most of the growers were seeking to reduce the amount 

 of handling necessary. When truckmen pick up the apples at the packing house 

 and deliver them at the door of the commission house, ordinarily at least one han- 

 dling is eliminated and perhaps two. Trucks are also supposed to carry the apples 

 with less jarring. This, however is open to question. For the bruising which 

 the fruit may receive when a car is added to or cut out of a train there is a corres- 

 ponding amount of bruising which the apples may get as the trucks drive over 

 unevenly surfaced roads. 



It is possible to assign responsibility for damage when the truckman is the 

 carrier. At the loading point this raises no difficulty even when the railroad is 

 the carrier. The shipper (grower) is on hand to insure proper care in loading in 

 both instances. It is when the consignment is delivered that responsibility for 

 damage is hard to place. If a rail shipment has been badly bruised — but no pack- 

 ages broken — and there has been, in addition, cartage to a commission house 

 from the delivery track, there is little possibility of placing the responsibility. If 

 the same lot had been bruised on a through carriage by truck, the operator could 

 be charged with carelessness. The personal relationship between the grower and 

 the truckman is favorable to shipping by truck, particularly when a local truck 

 operator is employed. 



The highest percentage of growers preferred the truck to the refrigerator car, 

 because the shipping charges were lower. For the size of the units shipped this 

 was probably true. These lots would, on a rail shipment, take a less-than-carlot 

 rate, which would be sometimes a few cents more or less than the trucking rate 

 per box. The rail carload rate per box is substantially lower than the trucking 

 rate. In this comparison no allowance is made for additional items such as load- 

 ing, icing, unloading, switching, carting, etc. The problem of shipping charges 

 is considered later. 



With reference to relative costs of shipping in hired trucks or hauling in their 

 own trucks, some growers were undecided. The general opinion was that on long 

 hauls commercial truckmen perform the service for much less than the grower can 

 do it. On the short hauls, so far as total cost^ is concerned, a /ew growers were 

 of the opinion that they could hire the trucking for less than they could do it them- 

 selves. The fact of owning a truck was occasionally sufficient reason for using 

 it for hauling. 



Growers shipped by rail for the following reasons: The service was good, dis- 



'Cash plus depreciation, time, etc. 



