122 THE MARKETING OF WHOLE MILK 



As in every other industry, costs in milk distribution 

 vary widely. Table XXII shows the variations in the 

 cost of handling milk at city plants in Detroit in 1915. It 

 will be noticed that the costs vary from 2.3 cents to 7.2 

 cents among the different dealers. 1 



The delivery costs vary nearly as widely, as is shown 

 in Table XXIII. 2 



Costs, of course, will also vary from time to time with 

 changes in prices, in wages, and in methods. Table XXIV 

 gives the results of a number of investigations as to the 

 cost of distribution in various cities. Some of these are 

 for retail only, and others are for a mixed business. Nos. 9 

 to 12, inclusive, show the cost of distributing a quart of 

 milk through four different channels used by the Borden 

 Company in New York City, No. 9 being on routes of 

 their family trade, No. 10 the company's sales to retail 

 stores, No. n retail sales at the company's own stores, 

 and No. 12 wholesale bulk sales. It should be pointed 

 out that although the company made a profit on only 

 those sales made at its own stores (No. n), this is no 

 evidence that the store method is the more economical. 

 These sales were made at the same prices as were charged 

 on the company's retail routes, although the consumer 

 went after his milk. Nos. 22, 23, and 24 make a some- 

 what similar comparison for the city of Rochester, New 

 York, as was made for New York City. It will be noticed 

 that in the column headed "Profit or loss" the items are 

 frequently loss. This of course is due to the fact that 

 many of these investigations were made at times when 

 the dealers were trying to raise prices or had raised 

 prices on the grounds of increased costs of material or cost 

 of milk. 



1 U. S. Department of Agri. Bulletin 639, p. 18. 



2 Ibid., p. 21. 



