UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
Contribution from the Bureau of Markets 
CHARLES J. BRAND, Chief 
Washington, D. C. January 29, 1919 
MOTOR TRANSPORTATION FOR RURAL 
DISTRICTS.* 
By J. H. Cotitns, Investigator in Market Surveys. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page. 
AaAeld for -the motor: truck==. oy Collection and delivery arrangements... 20 
Preliminary survey of the field of Farm-to-Farm collection ... 
operation __. i Coe een ne ee Cross roads collection... 
Advance estimate of operating costs... 9 Central assembling points. 
Gasoline, oil and grease... 11 Delivery methods 00! 
Drivers’ wages Collection of money 
Depreciation 2. Keeping cost records... 
Interest on investment... 12 Utilization of the farm truck ie 
REPAIKS ) ee The return or supplementary load........... 6 
Tires Themcentira les tetininia)] eee eee ees 26 
cre repute gen se Lye! Business arrangements for stabilizing 
Taxes, license and insurance... 14 the business of the rural motor opera- 
Myerieadvexpenses: == 25 14 LO a ee a ee ae ed re 28 
Selection of operating equipment._.....15 The standard bill of iladtra. 
Sizenor trick. = - - 
. 28 
ee eee beeper Hi) Insurance on loads carried by motor 
Body equipment —_.W..... RUC beet ek See ots OI Ae a San yh 
Tire equipment ~_....... Limiting factors . 
Determination of rates... Coneliits tonsa ae es ee 32 
A FIELD FOR THE MOTOR TRUCK. 
The motor truck as a medium for the carriage of farm products is 
now assuming a permanent place in the general scheme of transpor- 
tation. It was to be expected that the motor truck would find its 
greatest usefulness in solving the problem of the “short haul,” one 
of the most difficult problems which has confronted transportation 
experts during the last decade. The steady growth of our larger 
centers of population and their increasing demands for larger quantities 
of food have stimulated the development of producing areas adjacent 
* Acknowledgements are due to Mr. Robert H. Black, Assistant in Marketing, who 
assisted materially in the preparation of the insurance policy provisions included in this 
bulletin, to various members of the New York and Philadelphia Underwriters’ Associations, 
who reviewed and criticised these insurance policy provisions, and to the Secretary of the 
Philadelphia Truck Owners’ Association, who criticised the proposed bill of lading. 
