July, 1930] 



Operating Costs of Grain Stores 



25 



T.\BLE 18 — Average Retail Cash Prices of 62 Stores Compared with Average 

 Wholesale Mixed Car Prices of 10 Distributors for Year 1928* 



Grains and Feeds 



No. 2 corn 



Poultry wheat 



Standard bran 



Standard middlings. . . . 



Bufialo gluten 



Cottonseed meal — 36%. 



Dry mash 

 Dr}' mash 

 Dry mash 

 Scratch feed 

 Scratch feetl 

 Scratch feed 

 Dairy feed 

 Dairy feed 



A. 

 B. 

 C. 

 A. 

 B. 

 C. 

 A. 

 B. 



\\'holesale 



Distrii)utor 



Average 



Price 



$2.28 

 2 . 49 

 2.05 

 2.12 

 2.45 

 2.77 



2 90 

 2.99 

 2.91 

 2.51 

 2.60 

 2.60 

 2.77 



Difference 



Between 



Average 



Retail and 



\\ holesale 



Prices 



5.11 

 ,27 

 .19 

 ,20 

 ,17 

 ,17 



.31 

 .26 

 .30 

 .31 

 .25 

 .26 

 .14 

 .12 



*A11 goods sacked; wholesale prices to New Hampshire receiving points. 



The group of stores having the lowest average price during the 

 year sold grain and feed for less than replacement costs. Undoubt- 

 edly they purchased their supplies on a favorable market and passed 

 these savings on to their customers. On the other hand, the group 

 which charged the highest average price during the year took consid- 

 erable gross margin over replacement values. 



According to the weekly ciuotations given in the Boston Produce 

 ]\Iarket Report, 40 changes occurred in the price of No. 2 yellow 

 corn* during 1928. In contrast to these market changes the retailers 

 shifted prices on an average of 14.5 times. 



The average of the up-market corn changes was $.057, and the 

 down was $.061 per cwt. On the other hand, the average of all retail 

 price changes when up was $.07, and when down $.075 per cwt. This 

 seems to show that the stores are no more apt to follow changes in 

 the market upward than downward. When the net deviation for each 

 store was figured on the basis of its price change being greater or 

 smaller than the market change, 28 stores were found which did not 

 change the retail price of corn as much as the market and 7 which 

 made greater changes than the market. 



*In spite of the fact that requests for prices were asked for on the basis 

 of No. 2 yellow com, there is of course a possibility of confusion of grades. 

 A study of the quotations given in the Boston Produce Market Report shows 

 that com prices of the same grade vary from 1 to 2 cents a bushel; also that 

 differences between the highest quotation for No. 2 yellow corn and the high- 

 est quotation of No. 3 yellow corn vary from 1 to 4 cents a bushel. These 

 market variations for corn prices and similarly for other grains and feeds could 

 account for a small part of the difference in prices between stores. 



