3 
In some cases, the price situation is also an element. If prices of the 
commodity are low, less refrigeration may be used by some shippers; if prices 
are high, more refrigeration may be considered warranted as an additional pro- 
tection against deterioration of the product. The amount of refrigeration used 
in identical situations may sometimes differ among individual shippers; some are 
conservative and request more refrigeration than those others who are willing 
to take some risk in order to economize on their refrigeration costs. 
It would be too expensive and time consuming to obtain and analyze the 
charges for all, or even several, of the different types of refrigeration which 
may be used to ship the various fruits and vegetables included in this project 
under all possible conditions, It was decided to obtain for each commodity 
analyzed in this survey the charges for the one type of refrigeration under 
which the bulk of the movement took place. Table 1 presents for each commodity 
and origin the type of refrigeration generally used and the charges for such 
refrigeration per car and per 100 pounds to each market in the survey. The 
charge per 100 pounds was derived from the charge per car and was based upon 
average weight per railroad car of actual shipments, These average weights 
are the figures used by the Market News Braneh in converting truck unloads 
to rail carlot equivalents. 
Cartage Costs 
Trucking rates cover pickup at farm or packinghouse and store-door 
delivery service, but additional cartage costs are sometimes necessary if 
railroad service is used, The bulk of the shipments analyzed in this survey 
probably originated from packinghouse doors on rail sidings, Thus, rail- 
roads and trucks were generally on an equal basis at shipping point, rail 
- shipments not requiring cartage. 5 
However, in all of the cities studied in the survey, except Denver, 
at least some of the wholesale receivers were so located that hauling from 
the railroads was necessary. in most cases the distance involved was short, 
generally less than one mile. 6/ But most of the cartage expense was in 
the cost of loading and unloading the trucks, which was as much for a very 
short haul as for a longer distance. Cartage costs were substantial and 
were generally avoided when trucks instead of railroads were used for over- 
the-road movement. / In addition to the costs of hauling, there were 
~ 
a In a minority of the cases, however, rail movements would require 
cartage at shipping points to rail sidings. 
6/ See William C, Crow, Wholesale Markets for Fruits and Vegetables in 
O Cities, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Circular No. 63, Feb. 1938. 
7/ In a number of markets, produce in incoming trucks also is subject to 
costs which are not borne by rail receipts. Some labor contracts provide 
that members of local unions be employed to drive incoming trucks within 
designated metropolitan areas, The extent to which such practices result 
in higher trucking costs is not known, To the extent that such higher 
costs actually exist, such labor praetices are a counterbalancing factor 
increasing trucking costs. 
