lo 10-15 boxes, 30 miles. One owner said he had delivered 12 fowl 10 miles. 

 Most of these small plants sell within 25 miles, much of it "locally", and 

 their willingness to handle small orders has been a big factor in their success. 



Non-economic Factors in Buying and Selling 



Non-economic factors play an important role in buying and selling activities. 

 Most plants maintain that they "treat growers fairly" and, hence are able 

 to continue to obtain their birds. Few advertise in the local press; some 

 distribute calendars and pencils. In the main, personal contacts are of major 

 importance and many growers continue to do business with certain buyers 

 because congenial relationships are maintained. In selling, personal con- 

 tacts and impressions are exceedingly important; probably much more so 

 than trade advertising, calendars, etc. Such "non-economic factors", more 

 than short-run price considerations, explain many of the existing buying 

 and selling arrangements of the individual firm. 



Assembly and Delivery Equipment 



Crates, rather than batteries, were used by all plants hauling live birds. 

 Some plants were experimenting with crates for feeding birds, thus seeking 

 to eliminate the transfer of birds from crates to holding batteries at the 

 receiving station. Outbound shipments were predominantly ice-packed in 

 wirebound boxes. Many small plants still used orange crates. A small amount 

 of poultry was packed and frozen in cardboard cartons. 



Transportation equipment used for assembling and delivering poultry 

 varied with plant size. All plants but one in each size group owned plat- 

 form trucks for assembly purposes. Three-fourths of the large plants owned 

 trailers as compared to one-sixth of the medium-sized plants and none of 

 the small plants. Large plants have, on the average, three times as many 

 trucks as trailers. This suggests limitations in use of trailers on assembly 

 due to country roads, bridges, maneuvering space at the farm, and length 

 of haul. For delivery purposes, where larger volumes and longer hauls are 

 likely, practically as many trailers as trucks were owned. 



Pick-up trucks were more common among medium and small-sized plants. 

 None of the large plants indicated ownership of them as primary vehicles 

 for hauling poultry, but did use them for service work and odd jobs. 



One plant in each size group owned no equipment for assembly. The 

 large plant, raising most of its birds on contract, hired a trucker at a 

 specified amount per pound to pick-up and deliver the birds to the plant 

 according to a schedule set up by the plant management. This trucker also 

 cleaned out and disinfected chicken houses between flocks. The medium- 

 sized plant worked closely with three or four live buyers who did the buy- 

 ing in the field and delivered to the plant. A small plant, turning out Ko- 

 shered poultry, owned no trucks as all birds were delivered to the plant by 

 live buyers and farmers and all dressed poultry was picked up at the door. 



Many large and medium-sized plants rented delivery equipment or shipped 

 via trucking concerns. None of the small plants hired or rented equipment 

 for either assembly or delivery. One of the medium-sized plants and six 

 of the small plants used the same equipment for both assembling and de- 

 livery. In Tables 15 and 16, these trucks are included under Assembly. 



35 



