A [graphical representation] shows the continuous increase of driven-in to the total receipts. The table of percentages and the graphical representation are not given in the bulletin. They show very clearly what happened when the motor truck began to function in 1917. The truck has made a very much more effective showing at Indianapolis than at Omaha. No doubt this is because (1) the average haul at Omaha is longer; Omaha draws from a more sparsely settled country and from longer distances; (2) the roads adjacent to Omaha are nearly all, as yet, earth-surfaced. Only a few hard roads have been built; (3) many of the farms in the Omaha territory are large and sell so many animals at a time that they can easily fill one, two, or three railway cars at a shipment. The percentage of truck-hauled stock will no doubt continue to increase until practically all hogs within the economic radius of truck operation are marketed by motor. When the time comes, if it ever will, when abattoirs are established at distances no farther apart than 100 to 150 miles, making the maximum haul 50 to 75 miles, the percentage of stock handled by the railroads to these abattoirs will be very small indeed. The larger packing houses with the advantages of great quantity production will still be able to reach out into the more remote districts and secure that proportion of animals necessary to keep them going which can not be obtained locally.
Showing the increase of truck-delivered hogs at Indianapolis and at Omaha.
That there is still an opportunity for increases of motor-hauled stock a further quotation from the Firestone Bulletin will show:
“The territory served by trucks in marketing live stock is principally within a 50-mile radius of the market center. In the course of investigation the longest haul which came under observation was 140 miles. The average haul on the days the investigators were at the markets was about 30 miles. The following table gives some idea of the length of hauls at the four different yards:
| Yard | No. of Trucks Observed | Longest Haul, Miles | Shortest Haul, Miles | Average Haul, Miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Joseph | 48 | 100 | 9 | 27 |
| Omaha | 62 | 75 | 6 | 28.2 |
| Cincinnati | 40 | 72 | 3.5 | 28.9 |
| Indianapolis | 40 | 97 | 7 | 32.5 |
“While the average haul is 28.95 miles, most of the trucks observed in the course of investigation use solid-tire equipment. This type of equipment had a tendency to restrict the mileage.”
The bulletin also is authority for a statement that 91.3 per cent of the hogs within a 50-mile circle about the Indianapolis yards are carried by trucks, but that only 18.3 per cent at Omaha move that way, and at St. Joseph 10.8 per cent, which indicates to them that there are still great possibilities for the truck, especially as the truck has not come into as extended use at many other packing centers as at the four places treated in the bulletin.
There is no doubt but that pneumatic-tire equipment, and to a lesser extent, the cushion-tire equipment will extend the average haul to 50 miles. Hard-surfaced roads will again extend it 25 to 50 miles, making a haul of 75 to 100 miles not uncommon.
A further effect of the truck and the ease of marketing which it will bring about is that hogs will be marketed in smaller quantities but oftener. The farmer instead of turning off his marketable animals twice a year will send them in four times a year, possibly monthly. The tendency will be to stabilize the market over the several seasons. As yet, the stabilizing, influence of the truck is hardly noticeable.