Transportation

 Florida has had a substantial transportation cost advantage

over California in the three market areas studied in recent years.

Rail rate increases in 1976 have put California celery shippers at

an even greater disadvantage, since more celery moves by rail than

by truck from California to the major Eastern markets. Florida cel-

ery now has a delivered-cost advantage which ranges from $0.60-$1.00

per crate in Detroit to $1.75 in Boston (Table 8).

Table 8.--Celery transportation cost per crate and transit time from
 Florida and California to study market areas

 Transit Time From:
 Market Area Cost per Crate Florida California
 Florida California
 Flori da California Truck Truck Rail

 -------dollars-------- ----------days-----------

Philadelphia 1.35-1.65 3.00-3.25 1-2 4-5 7-8

Boston 1.75-2.25 3.50-4.00 2-3 4-5 8-14

Detroit 1.40-2.30 2.00-3.30 2-3 4-5 8-12



 Not only lower transportation cost but less transit time makes

Florida celery more attractive, relative to the California product.

Buyers stated that less time enroute resulted in Florida celery being

fresher, with a longer shelf-life. Other important factors stated by

retailers were that truck service was more dependable and that less

labor time is needed to unload trucks than rail cars. Moreover, the

shorter transit time from Florida gave retail merchandisers more

flexibility in planning and adjusting their celery purchases. Several

mentioned that the relatively rapid availability of Florida celery