24 N. H. Agri. Experiment Station [Station Bull. 307 



others.*^ In order to get around this difficulty, an estimate was made 

 of the percentage of the total number of routes on which individual 

 charges varied with distance (Table V). 



Table V. Routes varying: chariEre with distance, June, 1937. 



Charges varying 

 Total number with distance 



of routes Number Percentage 



Connecticut valley — Independents 

 Merrimack-Coastal region — Independents 

 Merriniack-Coastal region — Distributors 



Total 150 54 36 



Only slightly over one-third of all routes show a variation of individ- 

 ual charge with distance from market, and in many of these the varia- 

 tion consists merely of charging two different rates, one for those within 

 a certain distance and the other for those beyond this distance. There 

 appears to bo no signiticant difference between the three groups of 

 routes — Connecticut valley independents, Merrimack-Coastal inde- 

 pendents, and Merrimack-Coastal distributors — in this respect. 



III. Extent to wliich individual charges vary with tlie amount of 

 milk collected per producer : 



Other things being equal, a producer with five cans of milk to ship 

 will, under competitive conditions, pay less per hundredweight than 

 one witli only one can. The existence of cei'tain costs associated with 

 each loading stop, anil not projjortional to the amount of milk col- 

 lected at that stop would result in such a variation in charges. 



Table VI .shows the number of routes on whicli individual charges 

 varied with volume. These figures indicate that on onlv a very small 

 pi-opoi'tiun of i-outes was there a differential rate in favor of the ship- 

 per who delivered a large daily quantity of milk. (On many of the 

 routes varying ciiarges with quantity, the adjustment was made by 

 cliarging a fixed monthly rate to all shippers to which was added an ad- 

 ditional per huiidretlweiglit rate — thus making an average per hun- 

 dredweight charge of le.ss to the large producer tiian to the small one.) 



Table VI. Routes varying charge with volume collected per producer, 



June, 1937. 



Charges varying 

 Total number with volume 



of routes Number Percentage 



Connecticut valley — Independents 

 Merrimack-Coastal region — Independents 

 Merrimack-Coastal region — Distributors 



Total 150 13 9 



IV. \'ai'iation among routes similar in volume but differing in dis- 

 tance traveled. 



Under competitive conditions, average charges of routes of similar 

 length and volume should aj)j>ro!icli ecjuality. Hut wIkmi h-iiirth varies 



■" Where such a situation exists, rates to producers within the same radius 

 might be expected to vary; but average rates would still increase with distance. 



