EXPENSE FACTORS IN CITY DISTRIBUTION OF PERISHABLES 
11 
retail value by the computed percentage margin for the commodity. 
The percentage margins and the resulting price spread in terms of the 
standard retail sale are shown in the last two columns of this table. 
Table 4. — Size and value of standard retail sale, -percentage margins and price 
spread per sale for 14 commodities in all store types, New York metropolitan area, 
February, 1928, to May, 
Commodity- 
Prevail- 
ing 
range in 
size of 
retail 
sale 
Mid- 
point of 
range 
Mean 
retail 
price per 
pound 1 
Value of 
standard 
retail 
sale 
Percent- 
age 
margin 
Price 
spread 
per 
standard 
retail sale 
Northern potatoes. 
Southern potatoes. 
California oranges. 
Sweet potatoes 
Peaches 
Boxed apples 
Cantaloupes 
Southern cabbage . 
Barreled apples ... 
Eastern lettuce 
Western lettuce.. _ 
Yellow onions 
Northern cabbage- 
White onions 
Weighted mean. 
Pounds 
5-8 
3-4.5 
2-3 
2.5-3 
1.5-3 
1.5-3 
3-3.5 
2-3.5 
2. 5-3. 5 
1.5-2 
1-2 
2.5-4 
3-5 
1.5-3 
Pounds 
6.50 
3.75 
2.50 
2.75 
2.25 
2.25 
3.25 
2.75 
3.00 
1.75 
1.50 
3.25 
4.00 
2.25 
Cents 
4.1 
7.4 
11.0 
8.9 
11.9 
10.9 
7.6 
9.4 
8.0 
13.0 
14.7 
7.1 
5.2 
9.0 
Cents 
26.7 
27.8 
27.5 
24.5 
26.8 
24.7 
24.7 
25.9 
24.0 
22.8 
22.1 
23.1 
20.8 
20.3 
Per cent 
37 
38 
41 
45 
44 
46 
46 
48 
49 
51 
52 
53 
58 
63 
3.28 
25.3 
Cents 
9.9 
10.6 
11.3 
11.0 
12.1 
11.4 
11.4 
12.4 
11.8 
11.5 
11.6 
12.2 
12.1 
12.8 
11.3 
Adjusted for shrinkage in retailing. 
SIZE OF SALE AS AN ADEQUATE EXPLANATION OF PERCENTAGE MARGINS 
When price spread is expressed in cents per standard retail sale, 
instead of being shown as a percentage margin, it is seen to have a 
remarkable degree of uniformity among the 14 commodities. This 
spread varies only from a minimum of 9.9 to a maximum of 12.8, a 
difference of less than 3 cents per sale. Moreover, there is a high 
concentration about the mean of 11.3 cents for the series. 
The mean size of the standard retail sale for the 14 commodities 
weighted for each commodity according to its total volume marketed 
is approximately 3M pounds. There is a variation in size of sale 
among the different articles of 5 pounds, nearly twice the mean 
size of the standard sale for the series. 
The mean value of the standard retail sale for the series is 25.3 
cents. There is a total variation in its value among the 14 articles 
of 7.5 cents — from a minimum of 20.3 to a maximum of 27.8. This 
is less than one- third the mean for the series. The value of the 
standard retail sale is thus decidedly less variable than is the size of 
sale. This results from the fact, as shown graphically in Figure 4, 
that variations in size of sale within the series are generally offset 
by reciprocal variations in price per pound, in such a manner that 
variation in their products is diminished materially. 
Furthermore, despite high variation in size of sale and a con- 
siderable variability in its value, price-spread per sale is found to 
be very nearly constant for each article of the series. The relations 
are shown graphically in Figure 5. 
Thus it appears that commodities with low value per retail sale 
require practically the same monetary amount per sale for distribu- 
tion as do articles with high value per sale. Variations in percentage 
