multiplied by the appropriate 'distance shown in Table E.6 and then adjusted to reflect the

differences in weight per unit across commodities. Container size, number of containers per

40,000 pound load, and estimated cost per 1000 containers for the seven crops are shown in

Table E.7.


Table E.6. Distance between supply and demand points
 Demand
 Supply New York Chicago Atlanta Los Angeles
 Florida 1077 1110 392 2466
 Mexico 2487 1826 1774 552
 Texas 1988 1491 1169 1604
 California 2903 2111 2296 102



 Table E.7. Estimated transportation cost per mile per 1000 units by commodity
 Container No. of containers Transport cost per mile
 Commodity description per truck per 1000 containers
 Tomatoes 25 lb. carton 1600 .817
 Peppers 28 lb. bushel 1450 .902
 Cucumbers 55 lb. bushel 800 1.634
 Squash 42 lb. bushel 950 1.376
 Eggplant 33 lb. bushel 1300 1.006
 Watermelon hundredweight 450" 2.905c
 Strawberries 12 lb. flat 2000b .654

'Watermelons are not hauled in refrigerated trucks. This figure represents an estimate of the
number of hundredweight in a full load.
bFully loaded trucks with strawberries carry 2000 flats or 24,000 pounds of product.
'Estimated cost per 1000 hundredweight per mile.

Source: USDA, AMS, 1990