Table 15. Number of Trucks and Drivers, Miles and Man-Hours 



per Day and per Ton for Six Firms Distributing Feed 



at Three Density Levels 



* Day limited to 10 hours. 

 '* Firm F cannot distribute at this density level. 



For any given firm, the truck investment varies according to density 

 in the producing area. A firm distributing a given quantity of feed gen- 

 erally needs more trucks at low density levels than at higher density 

 levels. 



At the lowest density levels considered, total truck investment varies 

 from $19,500 for Firm A to $409,500 for Firm E. The investment per ton 

 distributed annually increases from $3.59 for Firm A to $6.03 for Firm 

 E. At the intermediate density level, investment varies from $19,500 for 

 Firm A to $331,500 for Firm F. Investment per ton decreases from $3.59 

 for Firms A and B to a low of $2.99 for Firm C and increases to $3.66 for 

 Firm F, This five-fold increase in density results in no reduction in truck 

 investment for Firm A to a reduction of $175,500 for Firm E. 



Increasing density to the maximum considered in this study results 

 in further reductions in truck investment for all Firms but A. Firm F 

 realizes the largest reduction, $117,000. Investment per ton at this den- 

 sity level decreases with increasing firm size and volume from $3.59 for 

 Firm A to a low of $2.15 for Firm D and increases to $2.37 for Firm F. 

 Total investment for trucks is given in Table 16. 



2. Garage — It is assumed that each firm has sufficient garage space 

 to house all its trucks. According to engineering estimates, garage space 



39 



