Long-Distance Shipment of Milk: Marketing Practices of Buyers and Sellers

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Only limited information is available on the organization and operation of the market for bulk milk moved long distances. The market organization and operation appear to be rather loosely coordinated activities. However, for buyers and shippers of such milk, it is a continuous decision-making process and, in many cases involves day-to-day and week-to-week problems. Additional information can provide a better understanding of the marketing process, so that it may be incorporated into a more efficient system for supplying milk to city markets. Some factors involving buyers of milk from outside sources are: (1) Reasons for the need of such milk, (2) factors related to obtaining supplies, (3) methods of price determination, and (4) arrangements for transportation. Similar factors involve sellers of milk shipped long distances. These may involve: (1) Location of buyers, (2) factors involving price determination, (3) transportation arrangements, and (4) institutional factors such as sanitary and inspection regulations, Federal and State milk market order provisions, and transportation restrictions. To ascertain answers to some of the more important aspects of moving milk long distances, 19 buyers located in 6 southeastern and 6 southwestern markets in the United States were interviewed during 1962. These buyers were regular handlers of Grade A milk utilized for fluid purposes; they were located considerable distances from their sources of outside milk. A personal survey was made of 12 large milk shippers, 10 of them in the Midwest, the region of large supplies of excess Grade A milk. The data obtained from these buyers and shippers are the basis for this report.