June, 1940] Transportation of N. H. Milk 15 



Table III — Relative cost of hauling milk before and after each stage of 

 reorganization in four New Hampshire markets, June, 1937. 



elude savings which might be made by eliminating monopoly elements 

 from trucking charges. 



Another approach to estimation of savings from reorganization would 

 be to compare actual charges as they were before reorganization, and 

 charges as they might be if they were set on new routes at competitive 

 levels. Such a comparison would not only measure the reduction in costs 

 brought about by route reorganization, but also the effect of the eriniina- 

 tion of monopoly elements in trucking rates. Unfortunately, as indi- 

 cated in the earlier study, ^ no trustworthy estimate of the degree of 

 monopoly present in trucking charges could be obtained. Consequently, 

 this approach cannot be used. It is important, howeve^ to recognize 

 that the potential savings indicated in Table III represent only a part 

 of the maximum savings possible were reorganization accompaniecl by 

 adjustment of rates to a competitive basis. 



The Second Stage of Reorganization 



A DVANCING one step further in the reorganization process, in this 

 section will be included not only those now shipping milk on com- 

 mercial truck routes, but also those now selling at wholesale, who either 

 take their milk to the plant themselves, or exchange hauling with one or 

 more of their neighbors. (See Fig. 3) 



While a system of trucking which collects all of this milk is undoubt- 

 edly more efficient than the reorganized system discussed in the preced- 

 ing section, a monetary measure of its savings is more difficult to ob- 

 tain. This comes about from the difficulty, previously mentioned, of 

 placing precise monetary valuations on the cost of hauling milk where 

 no definite charge is made. 



The routes, as they would be, following the second stage of reorgani- 

 zation are shown in Appendix Table III. The most striking accomplish- 

 ment has been the reduction in individual farmer mileage from 3,052 to 

 749, with only slight increases in total number, or distance traveled, of 

 commercial routes. A comparison with Appendix Table I, the description 

 of routes in actual operation, shows that even with an increase of volume 

 handled from 105,148 to 136,982 pounds, and number of producers from 

 591 to 782, there would be a reduction in number of routes from 52 to 38 

 and in route mileage from 2,086 to 1,609. 



^ MacLeod, et al., opus cit. 



