Figure 4. Method of Determining Least Labor Cost Complement of Men 

 and Loads to Assemble Supply Band III, 190 Crate Trucks, 

 5,000 Pound Per Year Density Level, 5.05 Loads. 



total wages per hour. The costs (excluding gasoline, oil, and tires) of 

 owning one 190 crate truck is $6.47 per day. If the crew is idle more 

 than 53 minutes per day waiting for a truck to return, it will pay to own 

 another truck and have it at the farm when the crew is ready for it. This 

 suhstitutes truck ownership costs for the cost of idle crew time. When 

 considering such a substitution, the variable costs of truck operation, 

 including gasoline, oil, tires, and driver time, are of course not consider- 

 ed. They remain the same because the number of birds hauled, and con- 

 sequently the number of loads, remains the same. 



Trucks and labor substitute for each other in another way, not in- 

 volving "idle" time of the crew. Small crews load at a slower rate than 

 large crews. If a small crew is used to assemble birds from a given im- 



18 



