Appalachian Apples: Packing Costs and Efficiency

Jules V. Powell

No 311389, Marketing Research Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program

Abstract: Excerpts from the report: Appalachian apple growers and packers are placing increased emphasis on sales to the fresh market. In order to meet the competition from other apple producing areas, packinghouse operators are interested in finding ways to reduce their production and marketing costs. This report is concerned with one of the major cost components in marketing apples--the labor and machinery used in placing apples in containers for shipment to market. The major factors affecting the efficiency and cost of packing labor are analyzed: (1) Types of packing equipment, (2) type of containers, (3) method of paying workers, and (4) length of packing season. This study is based upon data obtained from eight packinghouses in the Appalachian area. The packinghouses were selected so as to permit comparison of costs and efficiency for different types of equipment and different methods of packing apples for the fresh market. A further requirement was that each plant should pack a minimum of 50,000 bushels per season. The sample consisted of one packinghouse in Pennsylvania, two in Maryland, two in Virginia, and three in West Virginia. These plants were representative of the more efficient methods of packing and marketing apples in the Appalachian area.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Labor and Human Capital; Marketing; Production Economics; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26
Date: 1960-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uamsmr:311389

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.311389

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