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



increases them only slightly, providing distance traveled, road condi- 

 tions, and otliei" factors remain tiie same. Therefore, if rates per hun- 

 dredweight were based upon costs of services, they would decrease with 

 iucrea.se in volume carried, distance and other conditions remaining 

 the same. 



Some of tile grou])s of routes similar in length show a tendency for 

 rates to decrease witii increase in volume. Others show little or no sig- 

 niticant relationsliip. 



As in the analysis of the ivlationship of distance and charges, it may 

 be concluded tliat there is an association of lower average charges with 

 larger loatls of milk, other condilions l)tMng constant, but that such 

 association is not close and is far from that to be expected were rates 

 based upon ihc costs of services rendered. 



VI. Kelationshii) of rates to road conditions, services rendered, etc. 

 Rates miglit be expected to vary with road conditions and services 



remlei'ed. Other conditions ])cing e<iual, costs of opei'ating a truck 

 over unpaved roads aiv higher than over hard-surfaced roads. 



Routes of similar volume and length, but W'ith varying percentages of 

 hard-surfaced i-oad were too few to give any accurate measure of the 

 tendency of rates to vary with road conditions. Enough observations 

 were possil)le, however, to indicate that the relationship, if any existed, 

 was very slight. 



So far as could l»e determined the relationship of services rendered 

 to charges was also slight. There were instances wliere such services 

 as the supplying of ice in summer, the use of insulated truck bodies, 

 till- returning of empty cans the .same day. the collecting of milk at 

 farmsteads in i)lace of collection points on the main road, and so forth, 

 appeared to be taken into account in setting rates. But no accurate 

 measure of their etfect on rates could be obtained, and it seems unlike- 

 ly, especially in view of the lack of cousi.steut relationship of such fac- 

 tors as volume of load and distance of route to charges, tiiat anv close 

 relationship existed between services rendered and charges. 



VII. Comparison of rates charged by independents" and distributors' 

 trueks in the Connecticut valley and in the Merrimack-Coastal re- 

 gion. 



In an earlier section, a comparison was made of llie pliysical ciiar- 

 acteristics of truck routes oi)ei-ated by iiulepeiidents and by distribu- 

 tors in the whoh'sale milk section of the Connecticut valley and in the 

 Merrimaek-Coasta! I'egion. With that analysis and the analysis of 

 chai'ges thi'oughout the state as a l)aekground. the following comijarison 

 of chai'ges on I'ontes in each of these sub-groups l)i'iiigs out some signifi- 

 cant eharaeleri.sties. 



As only two distributors' routes lie in the Connecticut valley .section, 

 only the three groups — indei)endent routes in Connecticut valley, in- 

 dependent routes in the Merriiiuick-Coastal region, and distributoi's" 

 routes in the Mci-rimack-Coastal I'egion — are includeil in the analysis. 

 If there were a largei- number of routes, or if the volumes and lengths of 

 i-outes «lid not vary so widely, it would be possible to compare rates of 

 all three groups by separating them into sub-groups similar in length 

 and volume. I'n fortunately, only a very few such sub-groups are rep- 



