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U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ROYAL1MEEKER, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES /
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS f *
RETAIL
PRICES
AND
COST
OF
’
LIVING
/ W.HOLE 1 / ? A
\NUMBER I O t :
SERIES:
No.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM
PRODUCER TO CONSUMER
NOVEMBER 30, 1914
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1915
15
CONTENTS.
Page.
Butter prices, from producer to consumer:
Introduction.......................................................................................................
5, 6
Summary............................................................................................................. 6-12
Butter constituents............................................................................................ 11-13
Overrun............................................................................................................... 13-16
Creameries........................................................................................................... 16-20
Collection of cream and m ilk............................................................................ 20, 21
Seasonal variation in production, and effect of cold storage........................... 22, 23
Movement of wholesale prices in different markets....................................... 23, 24
Butter prices and margins for 16 creameries................................................... 24, 26
Table I.—Pounds of butter fat bought and of butter made therefrom,
average overrun, and average creamery prices and margins for each
of 16 creameries, by periods, June and December, 1904, 1910, and
1911........................................................................................................... 26-30
Table II.—Pounds of butter fat bought and of butter made therefrom,
average overrun, and average creamery prices and margins for each
period, June and December, 1904, 1910, and 1911, by creameries.. 40-42
Table III.—Average creamery prices and margins for 10 creameries
from which complete reports were obtained, by class of creamery,
June and December, 1904, 1910, and 1911................................. ........44,45
47
Prices and margins on various lots of butter from creamery to retailer___
Table IV.—Prices and margins from creamery to consumer on various
lots of tub and print butter handled by retailers in selected cities,
June and December, 1904, 1910, and 1911.......................................... 48,55
Table Y.—Average prices and margins from creamery to consumer on
butter handled by retailers in selected cities, June and December,
1904, 1910, and 1911............................................................................... 56,57
Wholesale prices of creamery butter, 1901 to 1912, and retail prices, 1907
to 1912.............................................................................................................. 58,59
Table V I.—Average monthly and yearly wholesale prices of creamery
butter at the Elgin market, 1901 to 1912..............................................
58
Table V II.—Retail prices of creamery butter in Chicago every second
month, 1907 to 1910, and every month during 1911 and 1912, by
firms.......................................................................................................... 58,59
3
BULLETIN OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WHOLE NO. 164.
WASHINGTON.
NOVEMBER 30,1914.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
BY NEWTON H. CLARK.
INTRODUCTION.
This report shows the prices paid the farmer for the raw material
of the butter (butter fat) contained in the milk or cream delivered by
him at the creamery, and the prices received for butter by the
creamery, by the wholesaler, and by the retailer. Creamery butter
only is considered and the prices are for butter passing promptly
from producer to consumer. In no case are cold-storage prices given
or the margins in the cold-storage business. No study was made of
the prices of dairy butter, which is of secondary importance in the
large butter markets. The data are for the months of June and
December in each of the years 1904, 1910, and 1911. June was
selected as representing the season of high production and low prices,
and December as representing the season of low production and
high prices. Of the years selected for study 1904 had lower
average prices than any other year since 1901; in 1910 there was a
wide range of prices and the average was higher than for any other
recent year; in 1911 there was a slight reduction in average prices as
compared with 1910.1
Two questions are dealt with in connection with butter prices:
First, the relation between the price of raw material and the retail
price of butter in periods of comparatively low and high prices, and
second, the cost of distribution or the additions made to the price of
butter as it passes from producer to consumer.
As the magnitude of the butter industry in the United States pre
cludes a complete and comprehensive inquiry into the business of
that industry in the entire country, data were obtained only from
representative creameries of various types and from representative
butter dealers in several of the principal markets. The buttermaking sections selected for the inquiry were northern Illinois,
southern Wisconsin, eastern and northern Iowa, all in the famous
1 See Table V I, page 58.
5
6
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Elgin district, and northwestern. Missouri. Prices and margins of
wholesalers and of retailers were obtained in Chicago, Cincinnati,
Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh—markets in which prod
ucts from various sections of the United States must compete,
and which also rule or influence the smaller or remote markets.
No attempt is made to present details as to the cost of production
of the raw material or to show the various elements entering into
the cost of manufacturing and distributing the finished product.
The figures are believed to be fairly representative of butter prices
and margins in general.
Data were obtained at first hand from the books of the establish
ments. Owners, managers, and secretaries of the creameries and
proprietors and managers of wholesale houses and retail stores deal
ing in butter willingly gave access to their records and cooperated in
the effort to make the data accurate and dependable. The general
policy of business concerns, however, to discard account books and
other records when they become out of date and are considered no
longer valuable or necessary made the task of locating records of
prices for the earlier months and years difficult and slow. Especially
was this true in retail establishments, in a large majority of which,
as soon as bills are paid, the sales records are destroyed to prevent
their accumulation and the occupation of space needed for the
storage of goods and the transaction of business.
In several instances where prices were obtained for the raw mate
rial furnished by the farmer to the creamery, the product of the
identical raw material was followed through factory, wholesale house,
and retail establishment to the consumer, showing the prices at
each step.
SUMMARY.
The farmer in selling his milk or cream to a creamery generally is paid a price per pound for the butter fat delivered, the amount of
butter fat being determined by weighing the milk or cream, testing a
sample of it to ascertain the per cent of butter fat, and then com
puting the amount of butter fat in the quantity delivered. The other
elements of the milk or cream are seldom considered in the sale.
In most cases it was not possible to trace specific quantities of
butter from the farmers who furnished the raw material through
various handlings to the consumers, and it was impracticable to
follow wholesale quantities to all the various retailers. On the other
hand, it was possible, as shown in Table IV, to trace prices and margins
on various lots of tub butter sold to retailers in Chicago, Cincinnati,
and Philadelphia, and on print butter sold to retailers in Cincinnati,
Cleveland, and Pittsburgh back to creameries included in this report.
From these details, which covered prices but not quantities sold,
7
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
average prices for tub and for print butter, according as sales of either
were reported, were computed, by cities. The prices and margins
from creamery (f. o. b. shipping station) to retailer shown in the
table which follows are simple averages for tub and print butter com
bined, based on the averages for the various cities, as presented in
Table V.
In the absence of details as to creamery margins for the various
lots of butter just considered, average creamery margins were com
puted from figures which were available for 10 representative cream
eries (Table III). Assuming that these averages represent average
creamery margins for the lots sold to retailers and deducting them
from the average creamery prices f. o. b. shipping station for those
lots, as ascertained by the method described above, approximate
figures were obtained showing the average prices paid the farmers
for butter fat in each pound of butter delivered at the creamery.
The following table brings together for each period studied the
averages obtained according to the methods just explained, present
ing in sequence the prices and margins to the various handlers from
producer to consumer. The total margins between prices paid to
farmers and those paid by consumers are shown in the last line of the
table and are believed fairly to represent average conditions.
A V E R A G E B U T T E R PR ICE S A N D M A R GIN S FR O M F A R M E R TO CON SU M ER, JUNE A N D
D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
[The averages from creamery, f. o. b. shipping station, to consumer are derived from Table V ; the average
creamery margins are derived from Table III; the average price paid to farmers for butter fat in 1 pound
of butter is found b y subtracting the average creamery margin per pound from the average creamery
price per pound.]
1904
1910
1911
Item.
Price paid to farmers for butter fat in 1
pound of butter, delivered at cream ery..
Creamery margin per p o u n d .........................
Creamery price per pound, f. o. b. shipping
station.............................................................
Freight per p o u n d ...........................................
Cartage per p o u n d ...........................................
Gross price per pound paid b y receiver or
wholesaler.....................................................
Receiver's or wholesaler's margin per
p ou n d .............................................................
Price per pound paid b y retailer..................
Retailer's margin per p o u n d .........................
Price per pound paid b y consum er.............
Total margin between price per pound for
butter paid b y consumer and price for
butter fat therein paid to farmer at
cream ery........................................................
June.
Decem
ber.
June.
Decem
ber.
June.
$0.1518
.0235
SO. 2326
.0338
SO.2562
.0204
$0.2733
.0267
$0.2086
.0218
SO. 3297
.0289
.1753
.0073
*.0003
.2664
.0073
i. 0003
.2766
.0073
*.0003
.3000
.0073
*.0003
.2304
.0073
x.0003
.3586
.0073
*.0003
.1828
.2740
.2842
.3075
.2380
.3662
.0130
.1958
.0470
.2428
.0155
.2895
.0390
.3285
.0159
.3001
.0441
.3442
.0163
.3238
.0508
.3746
.0157
.2537
.0445
.2982
.0187
.3849
.0492
.4341
.0910
.0959
.0880
.1013
.0896
.1044
Decem
ber.
1 Not including cartage in two cities, not separately reported. Considering only the three cities in which
this item was separately reported the average per 100 pounds was 4| cents in June, 1904, and 4| cents in
the other periods.
In June, 1904, when the average retail price was 24.28 cents per
pound, the margin consumed in manufacturing and packing the
butter and distributing it to consumers was 9.10 cents per pound,
8
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
leaving the producers 15.18 cents for the raw material. In December
of that year, a season when the output was curtailed and the opera
tions of gathering, manufacturing, and distributing were hindered
by unfavorable weather conditions, the average retail price was
32.85 cents per pound and the aggregate margin for manufacturing
and distributing increased to 9.59 cents, leaving the producers 23.26
cents for the raw material or butter fat. Of this, however, owing to
the adverse conditions of the season, they had for market, as may
be computed from the figures shown in Table II (pp. 40 and 41)
only 45 per cent of the amount they sold in the summer season.
In June, 1910, the price paid by consumers was slightly higher than
it was in December, 1904. The high quality of creamery butter had
given it wide popularity so that the demand had materially increased
and the price maintained an average of 34.42 cents per pound. The
total charge for manufacturing, marketing, and distributing was
8.80 cents per pound, which enabled farmers to receive for the raw
material 25.62 cents of the 34.42 cents paid by consumers for the
manufactured product in the retail markets. In December, 1910,
following the usual trend for the winter season, the average retail
price reached 37.46 cents per pound. Farmers received 27.33 cents
for the fat in one pound of butter, which made a margin of 10.13
cents per pound for the services performed by manufacturers, carriers,
and dealers between the producer and the consumer. The increase
in the margin as compared with June may be accounted for, in some
measure at least, by the fact that, while the expenses of operation
remained the same, there was a decrease of about 50 per cent in
output in December.
In June, 1911, the average retail price was 29.82 cents per pound,
the lowest for any June since 1906. The farmer’s price was 20.86
cents, making the aggregate absorbed by maker, carriers, and dealers,
8.96 cents.
In December, 1911, there was more than the ordinary seasonal
shrinkage of output. This was due to the unusual severity of the
weather during the latter part of the month. Transportation was
impeded by storms and snow, the supply of fresh butter in the
markets became depleted, and the average price charged consumers
reached 43.41 cents per pound. The rise in retail price gave some
advantage to the receivers or wholesalers who had butter in stock and
they were able to sell their goods at a higher figure, which increased
their margin to 1.87 cents per pound, the highest for any month con
sidered in this report. The price received by the farmers was 32.97
cents per pound for the butter produced from material furnished
by them, making a total difference of 10.44 cents per pound between
consumer’s price and farmer’s price.
Whether the increase or decrease in price to the farmer means in
reality a greater or less profit for him has not been determined and
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
9
could be ascertained only by an intricate study of the cost of produc
tion of the cream or milk, a subject not considered in this report.
While there were marked variations in the average prices paid to
the farmer for butter fat and in those paid by the consumer for butter
between June and December the changes in the margins between pro
ducers7 and consumers’ prices were comparatively small. Thus, in
December as compared with June there was an increase in the average
price paid the farmer for the butter fat in 1 pound of butter of 8.08
cents in 1904, 1.71 cents in 1910, and 12.11 cents in 1911; in the aver
age price per pound paid by the consumer, December showed an
increase over June of 8.57 cents in 1904, 3.04 cents in 1910, and 13.59
cents in 1911. The December margin between the prices paid to
producer and by consumer exceeded that of June by 0.49 cent in 1904,
1.33 cents in 1910, and 1.48 cents in 1911. Part of the increase in
margin went to the creamery, somewhat less to the retailer, and a
very small j>art to the receiver or wholesaler. In no case was the
increase in margin very great. The railroad and the teamster received
the same rate for hauling at each of the periods studied.
Margin is not used in this report to indicate profit, but is the
difference between the cost price and the selling price. A retail
dealer may buy a tub of butter at 30 cents a pound and sell it at 35
cents. The margin is 5 cents a pound. If the tub was billed to him
at 60 pounds net, he paid $18 for it, but in giving even or down weight
for each parcel, permitting a little to waste by sticking to the tub,
sustaining a slight shrinkage from evaporation, or having a tub a
trifle heavier than the tare deducted, he may sell only 58 pounds at
35 cents, receiving $20.30 for his sales. This is 70 cents less than he
would have received if his sales had amounted to 60 pounds at 5
cents per pound margin, and the actual profit on the tub is $2.30
instead of $3. In this case the 5-cent margin represents a profit of
only 3f cents per pound.
In the data here considered, the only agent between the retailer and
the shipper is the wholesaler—in the butter trade generally termed
the receiver. Some butter goes through the hands of two or more
wholesalers or jobbers. These additional handlers share in the
receivers’ and retailers’ margins, as competition is so keen that margins
are reduced to the narrowest range which careful and aggressive
business methods can make, consistent with the burdens and risks
of the industry. If the butter is put into cold storage, the operators
take the chance of making larger profits, smaller profits, or no profits,
or of suffering losses, depending on future markets which are
affected by many conditions.
It is the custom in the butter trade to refer to margins in terms of
cents per pound rather than in percentages of capital invested or of
prevailing prices. For instance, in June, 1904, with a retail price of
24.28 cents the retailer’s margin was 4.70 cents per pound; in Decem
10
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
ber, 1911, with a retail price of 43.41 cents, or nearly twice that of
June, 1904, the retailer’s margin was 4.92 cents; the total margin
between the price received by farmers and that paid by consumers
was 9.10 cents per pound in June, 1904, and 10.44 cents in December,
1911.
If the percentages that the various margins were of retail prices are
considered it is found that for the two periods in the earlier year (1904)
when prices were low the per cent of margin was much higher in
nearly every case than for the corresponding periods in the later
years (1910 and 1911) when the prices were high. This is brought
out in the following table, showing the per cent of the retail price
made by each handler of butter from the producer to the con
sumer in the different periods studied:
P E R C E N T OF ITE M S COM POSING TH E A V E R A G E R E T A I L P R IC E S OF B U T T E R IN JUNE
A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
1904
1911
1910
Item.
June.
Decem
ber.
Decem
ber.
June.
June.
Decem
ber.
Price received b y farmer................................
Creamery m argin.............................................
Freight charges................................................
Cartage charges................................................
Wholesale receiver’s margin..........................
Retail dealer’s margin.....................................
Price paid b y consumer.................................
62.5
9.7
3.0
.1
5.3
19.4
100.0
70.8
10.3
2.2
.1
4.7
11.9
100.0
74.5
5.9
2.1
.1
4.6
12.8
100.0
72.9
7.1
1.9
.1
4.4
13.6
100.0
70.0
7.3
2.4
.1
5.3
14.9
100.0
75.9
6.7
1.7
.1
4.3
11.3
100.0
Total margin between consumer and
farmer..................................................
37.5
29.2
25.5
27.1
30.0
24.1
Averages of the items for the three Junes and for the three Decem
bers afford another basis of comparison between the summer season
when low prices prevail and the winter season when prices are gen
erally much higher. Such averages are shown in the following table,
together with the per cent of increase in December over June for
each item:
A V E R A G E B U T T E R PR IC E S A N D M A R G IN S FR O M F A R M E R TO CON SU M ER F O R T H E
3 JU NES A N D T H E 3 D E C E M B E R S, 1904, 1910, A N D 1911, A N D P E R C EN T OF IN C R E A S E
IN D E C E M B E R O V E R JU NE.
Average for 1904, 1910,
and 1911.
Item.
June.
December.
Per cent of
increase in
December
over June.
Price received b y farmer...............................................................................
Creamery margin............................................................................................
Creamery price, f. o. b. shipping station..................................................
Freight charges...............................................................................................
Cartage charges...............................................................................................
Price paid b y wholesale receivers..............................................................
Wholesale receiver’s m argin........................................................................
Prices paid b y retailers.................................................................................
Retailer’s margin............................................................................................
Price paid b y consum er................................................................................
SO. 2056
.0219
.2275
.0073
i .0003
.2350
.0149
.2499
.0452
.2951
SO. 2785
.0298
.3083
.0073
1 .0003
.3159
.0169
.3328
.0463
.3791
34.4
13. 4
33.2
2.4
28.5
Total margin between consumer and farmer................................
.0895
.1006
12.5
i Not including cartage in 2 cities, not separately reported.
35.4
36.1
35.5
11
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
The following table was made by
the averages for the three Junes and
chosen years, and placing in parallel
centages of the items composing the
selecting again for comparison
for the three Decembers in the
columns the amounts and per
average retail prices of butter.
A M O U N T A N D P E R C EN T OF ITE M S COM POSING T H E A V E R A G E R E T A I L P R IC E S OF
B U T T E R IN T H E 3 JUNES A N D 3 D E C E M B E R S, 1904, 1910, A N D 1911, C O M B IN ED .
Average for 1904, 1910, and 1911.
June.
Item.
Am ount.
December.
Per cent.
Am ount.
Per cent.
Price received b y farm er.......................................................
Creamery margin ....................................................................
Freight charges........................................................................
Cartage charges........................................................................
Wholesale receiver’s m argin.................................................
Retailer’s m argin....................................................................
Price paid b y consum er.........................................................
$0.2056
.0219
.0073
i .0003
.0149
.0452
.2951
69.7
7.4
2.5
i .l
5.0
15.3
100.0
SO. 2785
.0298
.0073
1 .0003
.0169
.0463
. 3791
73.5
7.9
1.9
i.l
4.4
12.2
100.0
Total margin between consumer and farmer........
. 0895
30.3
.1006
26.5
1 Not including cartage in 2 cities, not separately reported.
The table shows that for the three years combined the average price
paid by the consumer in December wTas 37.91 cents, or 8.40 cents more
than the average (29.51 cents) paid in June. Average margins for
each handling were lower in June than in December, but represented
a higher proportion of the retail prices in June than in December in
every case except that of the creamery margin, which in June was 7.4
per cent of the price paid by the consumer, as compared with 7.9 per
cent in December. The average price received by the farmer for the
butter fat in 1 pound of butter was not only less in June than in
December, but also represented a smaller percentage of the price paid
by the consumer.
BUTTER CONSTITUENTS.
The amount of butter obtainable from 100 pounds of whole milk
averages about 4.4 pounds. The primary constituent of butter is but
ter fat, and this butter fat is the element in the cream or milk sold by
the farmer that is considered in the price he receives, though in some
cases the skim milk and the buttermilk are returned to him. Butter
fat is the pure oil contained in milk, cream, or butter. When a
creamery buys milk or cream on the basis of butter fat the percentage
of fat is ascertained by testing a sample, usually by the Babcock
method, which may be described as follows:
A measured sample of the milk or cream to be tested is placed in a
test bottle, which is a small bottle having for a neck a tube about 4
or 5 inches long, with a graduated scale. There is then introduced a
measured quantity of sulphuric acid of standard strength and some
12
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
warm water to curdle the contents. A number of bottles containing
samples are placed in a centrifugal machine, which is revolved at a
high rate of speed. Thus, by chemical action and centrifugal force,
the fat is separated from the water and other substances of the milk
or cream. When the bottles are removed from the machine the per
centage of fat standing at the top may be easily read on the scale.
By simply applying the percentage of fat thus ascertained to the
number of pounds of milk or cream delivered it is possible to calculate
the number of pounds of butter fat contained therein. To obtain the
most equitable results, the test should be made for each lot of cream
or milk, but in practice it often happens that tests are made only once
or twice a week, or once in two weeks for regular patrons, intervening
deliveries being computed either exactly or approximately on a pre
ceding test or on an average of several preceding tests.
According to a definition established under authority of Congress
by the Secretary of Agriculture 1 butter may contain as little as 82.5
per cent of fat, and a regulation made by the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue under the act of May 9, 1902, relating to adulterated butter,
and approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, makes it subject to
classification as adulterated butter if it contains 16 per cent or more
of water.
Bulletin No. 149 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States
Department of Agriculture, transmitted March 27, 1912, in a com
prehensive study of the subject, shows in detail the normal composi
tion of American creamery butter, and records the complete analytical
details of 695 general samples of creamery butter obtained from 488
creameries in 14 States, and of 34 samples of creamery butter made
and packed for the Navy Department under the supervision of the
Dairy Division, under contract to conform to specifications prepared
by the division.
The average composition follows:
A V E R A G E COM PO SITION OF 695 G E N E R A L SAM PLES OF B U T T E R A N D 34 SA M P L E S OF
N AVY BUTTER.
[From Bulletin No. 149 of the Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture.]
Number and kind of sample.
Fat.
Water.
Salt.
Curd.
695 general samples..................................................................
34 samples of N avy butter................................................, . .
Per cent.
82.41
84.13
Per cent.
13.90
12.21
P er cent.
2.51
2.72
Per cent.
1.18
.94
Butter (except small quantities of “ unsalted” for special trade)
is washed with brine so that the small quantity of salt thus intro
duced shall act as a preservative and develop the flavor.
Butter experts do not agree as to the percentage of water desirable
in the best butter. Some contend that 14 or 16 per cent gives it a
1 See Circular No. 19, issued June 26, 1906, b y the United States Departm ent of Agriculture.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
13
satisfactory spreading quality, while others hold that the moisture
should be reduced to 10 or 12 per cent to give it firmness of texture^
better keeping quality, and increased nutritive value. The curd is
composed mostly of casein. This is the constituent which usually
causes rancidity, and butter which has not been properly washed and
carefully worked to remove the buttermilk may retain a considerable
proportion of casein, and as a result have only inferior keeping quali
ties. On the other hand, butter may be washed and worked so much
as to deprive it of its delicacy of flavor. Upon the skill of the butter
maker in correctly apportioning the various constituents of butter
depends in large measure the value of a creamery’s output.
OVERRUN.
As has been shown, the milk or cream furnished by the farmer to
the creamery contains a certain proportion of butter fat, which is
ascertained by test. This fat is contained in the cream, which is
separated from the milk before churning. While theoretically butter
should consist of little else than fat, in practice this degree of per
fection is never attained. In addition to the butter fat the butter
obtained from the cream by churning retains a certain amount of
water, casein or curd, milk sugar, and other substances, and a small
percentage of salt is added. The amount of these constituents over
and above the butter fat in the butter is called the overrun. Stated
in another way, the overrun is the difference between the weight of
pure butter fat in the cream, as shown by test, and the weight of the
butter actually produced therefrom. The per cent of overrun, accord
ing to commercial usage, is the per cent which the weight of the con
stituents other than butter fat is of the weight of the fat in a given
quantity of butter.
To aid in understanding this subject the following concrete example
is given: A farmer delivers to a creamery 1,000 pounds of cream
having an average test of 31 per cent of fat. The creamery thus gets
1,000 pounds of material, 310 pounds of which is butter fat. From
this material 365 pounds of commercial butter is produced by churn
ing. The difference between this amount and the 310 pounds of
butter fat, namely, 55 pounds, constitutes the overrun and consists
of the water, casein or curd, milk sugar, salt, and other substances
remaining with the butter fat after the butter has been salted and
drained. In other words, these figures show that in every 100 pounds
of the butter produced there were about 85 pounds of pure fat and
15 pounds of water and other substances. But while the amount of
overrun was thus 15 parts in every 100 parts of the finished butter,
this must not be confused with the percentage of overrun, which, as
has been indicated, is the per cent that the 15 pounds of constituents
other than butter fat is of the 85 pounds of fat, or 17.6 per cent.
14
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
This illustration is within the range of actual experience in butter
making, as the percentage of overrun varies from 7 to 25 per cent, or
even higher, and probably has fallen below 7 per cent in some
creameries.
In the earlier years of the creameries little or no attention was given
to overrun. After churning, the butter was drained in the churn
until the buttermilk stopped running from the vent, or until the
butter maker thought it sufficiently drained. After rinsing with
brine to make salted butter, or with clear water for the unsalted
product, it was drained again in like manner. The butter was then
worked to a satisfactory “ body,” or “ texture,” or degree of dryness,
and packed in tubs for market. Sometimes it may have contained
as low as 7 per cent, and again it may have carried as high as 25 per
cent of water.
As butter making became a commercial enterprise it became appar
ent that a given amount of butter fat could be made to produce an
increased weight of butter by adding more water, and if there were
no appreciable difference in the appearance, the flavor, or the body
of such butter it could be sold for the same price as butter containing
less water, thus increasing the profit.
Owners and managers of creameries and farmers urged butter
makers to increase the overrun—that is, the amount of water. Dairy
schools made experiments and investigations to devise the best
methods by which it could be accomplished and trained butter
makers so that they could make almost any overrun desired, and
dairy periodicals gave wide currency to discussions of the question.
In the Eighteenth Annual Report of the State Dairy Commissioner
of Iowa (1904), page 41, the following statement is made:
Reports to this office show that the overrun varies as much as 10
per cent from one month to another in some of our creameries.
The difference in prices paid, which results from this variation in
the overrun will certainly create dissatisfaction among the patrons.
If the overrun can be made about the same every day the prices
will be more uniform and satisfactory.
The same commissioner, in his Nineteenth Annual Report (1905),
page 12, on the subject of overrun, has the following:
Under present conditions of sharp and varied competition among
creameries it is necessary to the successful operation of a creamery to
make the most possible butter out of a given quantity of fat— to get
the largest possible legitimate overrun. In the larger creameries a
good deal of attention is given to this matter because it is closely
connected with the question of profits. In the small creameries
comparatively little attention is given to the matter except in a few
instances. Our creameries average about 120,000 pounds of butter
per year. The usual overrun used to be stated universally as onesixth, or about 16 per cent. When the month’s work and payment
were figured up and the overrun of butter over butter fat was com
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
15
puted, any deviation from a 16 per cent overrun, whether it was
more or less than this amount, was invariably charged to inaccuracy
in testing. While the fact was recognized that the amount of water
and salt and casein in butter were variable quantities, it was scarcely
suspected that skill in butter making could change any of these
except, of course, the salt which might be added in almost any
amount. The dairy department at Ames [Iowa State College], by a
series of experiments and investigations showed that not only could
a skillful butter maker make his overrun almost anything he desired,
but that certain butter makers in successful creameries were already
doing it; that a 16 per cent overrun could easily and legitimately
be increased to 20 per cent or even 25 per cent overrun. That is,
the skillful butter maker can make butter having in it only 80 per
cent of butter fat just as easily and as certainly as he can make
butter containing 86 per cent of butter fat. In the one case he would
have a 25 per cent overrun and in the other he would have the usual
overrun of about 16 per cent. And the butter containing but 80
per cent of butter fat serves the purpose of the consumer, meets all
the requirements of any market for flavor or body or qualities of any
kind, violates no law, either State or National, and traverses no
regulations of any kind or character. And yet, with all these effects
so perfectly understood, so often put in print, and so thoroughly
discussed, very few butter makers know what their overrun is except
from the books of the creamery at the end of the month, and very few
creamery managers seem to care whether their butter maker makes
a proper overrun or not; he gets no more nor no less wages on
account of his skill or lack of it in this particular. In a few cases the
assistant dairy commissioners have found butter makers claiming
that they were getting habitually 20 or 22 per cent overrun when
tests of their butter showed but 12 or 14 per cent.
The average creamery [in Iowa] makes about 120,000 pounds of
butter a year, not counting in this the centralizing plants. At the
average price for last year [1905] this butter sells for nearly $30,000.
A difference of only 5 per cent in the overrun would amount to more
than $110 a month for this average creamery, nearly twice the butter
maker’s salary. If his butter was so poor in quality as to lose this
sum he would be promptly and properly discharged, but there is
many a creamery in this State whose income could be easily increased
in this particular an amount equal to that here mentioned by a
proper increase in the overrun. The larger central plants, with
which the smaller plants compete, do get this large overrun, and
competition makes it necessary that the smaller ones who meet this
competition shall get as good an overrun as their larger competitors
or go out of business because of lack of ability to meet the competition.
A difference of only 5 per cent in the overrun makes, at last year’s
prices, a cent and a quarter on the pound of butter fat, a difference of
that much in the price the creamery can pay the farmer for his butter
fat— three-quarters of a million of dollars for the creamery patrons of
the State.
^
The question of overrun is of the greatest importance from the
standpoint of values and should receive more attention at the hands
of butter makers and creamery operators.
71510°—Bull. 164—15------2
16
BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Eagerness to enlarge the output of butter by increasing the over
run became general and led to the inclusion of abnormal quantities
of water. A number of States have enacted legislation defining
butter and specifying the minimum percentage of fat it must contain
or the maximum amount of water it may contain. Some States
permit a product containing as low as 80 per cent of fat, and some
have established the standard fixed under authority of Congress, by
the Secretary of Agriculture, requiring 82.5 per cent of fat in butter.1
The centralizers and other large establishments were first to study
the subject of overrun and thus earlier than the other and smaller
establishments they learned how to obtain a large and regular
amount of overrun. Later the subject was given more general study
and the smaller factories reached a higher and more uniform mark
of overrun. This is illustrated by the following table which shows,
first, the percentage of overrun in each period covered by this inves
tigation for the large centralizer, appearing as creamery No. 16 in
Table I, and second, the average percentage of overrun for 10 smaller
creameries for which the figures are reported in that table. It
should be borne in mind that these figures are based on data taken
from the books of the establishments and are not the results of actual
tests of the butter.
P E R C E N T OF O V E R R U N IN A L A R G E C E N T R A L IZ E R A N D A V E R A G E P E R C EN T OF
O V E R R U N IN 10 S M A L L E R C R E A M E R IE S , JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
Per cent of overrun.
1904
Creamery.
June.
Creamery No. 16 (centralizer).......................
Average for 10 smaller creameries................
21.8
12.6
1910
Decem
ber.
22.5
13.5
June.
24.4
20.9
1911
Decem
ber.
23.8
21.8
June.
24.4
20.4
Decem
ber.
23.2
20.1
As shown in the above table the large centralizer had a high per
centage of overrun even as far back as 1904, while the smaller cream
eries had a comparatively low percentage of overrun in 1904 but
increased it materially in later years.
CREAMERIES.
The creamery is the medium between the farmer and the market.
It benefits the average farmer by bringing him better returns for the
raw material than the homemade product commands, at the same
1 A ccording to a summary of legal standards for dairy products recently prepared b y the Bureau of
A nim al Industry of the U nited States Department of Agriculture (Circular 218—revised to N ov. 1,1913)
the m inimum percentage of fat required in butter b y the States which have enacted legislation on the
subject is as follows: Eighty per cent in California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, N ew Hampshire, Ohio, South
Dakota, and Utah; 81.5 per cent in Oklahoma; 82.5 per cent in Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois,Indiana,
K entucky, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Virginia, W isconsin, and W yom ing; and 83 per
cent in the District of Columbia.
BUTTER PRICES; FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
17
time relieving him of the work of making the butter and the neces
sity of seeking a market. To the consumer it provides butter, for
the table, of a better and more uniform quality than the farm-made
article.
An interesting account of the ^development of the dairy industry
in the central West is given in the biennial report of the dairy and
food commissioner of Wisconsin for the period ending June 30,
1910, pages 9 and 10, as follows:
It is well-nigh impossible to picture clearly to the imagination of
the present generation the condition of the dairy industry of Wis
consin at its beginning. The cow was the ordinary native; the dairy
barn was a straw stack; the dairy house, creamery, or cheese factory
was the farm kitchen, cellar, or well; the butter maker or cheese
maker was the pioneer farmer’s wife; the market was the local gro
cery store, and that often many miles away and glutted; the means
of transportation was by foot, or perchance by ox teams; price, 5 to
10 cents a pound for butter, pay taken in brown sugar at 25 cents a
pound, and other groceries at corresponding prices. The cows
freshened in March or April, ran at large and were dried off in Novem
ber and December. There was no winter dairying. From my own
personal knowledge and experience in Wisconsin I am prepared to
assert that the foregoing picture is not overdrawn.
Contrast present conditions in Wisconsin with those at the begin
ning of the industry! Where there were at that time no cheese fac
tories, no creameries, no skimming stations, no condenseries, there
are now (1910) known to be in Wisconsin 1,928 cheese factories,
1,005 creameries, 88 skimming stations, and 19 condenseries. The
manufacture of butter has been transferred from the farm to the
modern Wisconsin creamery. The manufacture of cheese has been
transferred from the pioneer farm to the modern Wisconsin cheese
factory. The old straw stack as a means of protecting the cow
from the cold and the storms of winter has been replaced by the
modern dairy barn, which more and more is being well lighted and
ventilated, and in which the old rigid stanchion so promotive of
filth and discomfort of the cow is being replaced by the modern stall,
promotive of cleanliness and comfort. The old-time native, scrub,
no-purpose cow, poor and plastered on both flanks and hips with
filth, with hair protruding hedgehog fashion, back filled with grubs—
a thing repulsive to behold—is being superseded by clean, well-kept,
high-grade, or pure-bred, special-purpose cows of the dairy breeds,
not only profitable to the owner, but beautiful and attractive to
every beholder.
The grocery or general store as a market for butter and cheese has
been replaced by the great markets of Elgin, Chicago, New York, and
other great cities. The cellar as a place of storage has been replaced
by the modern refrigerator plant. Instead of the footman or the
ox team bearing with slow pace the farm butter to the grocery store
market, we now have as means of transportation for dairy products
the modern railway with its refrigerator cars. The milking machine
is fast superseding the tedious process of hand milking. Instead of
the open shallow pan for raising cream by gravity, we have the
18
BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
modern cream separator; instead of the old dasher churn, we have
the modern combined churn and butter worker run by steam power.
Instead of the method of empiricism for manufacturing dairy prod
ucts on the farm, we have skillful butter makers and cheese makers,
manufacturing butter and cheese in accordance with scientific prin
ciples in the creameries and cheese factories, which are equipped
with all modern appliances for the attainment of perfection in the
manufacture of cheese and creamery butter. * * * The dairy
statistics (of Wisconsin) for the year 1909, showing an aggregate
revenue of $79,000,000, indicate the present stupendous proportions
of the industry and stagger the imagination.
The major part of the butter handled in large markets is made in
creameries. These vary in size and capacity and differ in type, and
are known as locals or centralizers according to the territory covered.
Locals draw supplies of cream or milk or both from near-by farms,
usually within hauling distance by teams. Centralizers draw ma
terial from a large area, and receive a large portion of their material
by railroad from localities as far as 150 miles or more distant. The
material received by centralizers is practically all cream rather than
milk, and transportation charges are prepaid by the shipper. In
the plan of ownership and operation, creameries may be either co
operative or individual.
Cooperative creameries are owned jointly by the farmers of the
surrounding community with sometimes a few shares held by local
merchants or others. The farmers furnish the raw material in the
form of milk or cream. A secretary and manager has charge of the
affairs of the association, and there is a butter maker and such other
help as is needed. The secretary deals with the farmers, keeps the
plant in running order, disposes of the product, collects the moneys
due the association, pays the expenses of operation, and divides the
balance of the proceeds among the farmers who supply the raw
material.
The output of butter is shipped to market weekly or oftener.
Usually a draft for 60 per cent or 75 per cent of the value of the con
signment at the current market price is sent with the bill of lading
through a bank. Settlements are made on the basis of the market
price the day the butter arrives at destination, and remittances for
balances are made promptly. A record is kept of the number of
pounds of butter fat furnished by each farmer. From the total
amount of money received for the output for a month the expenses
of maintaining and operating the plant and a sum for a contingent
fund are deducted and the balance is paid to the farmers. This bal
ance is divided by the number of pounds of butter fat used, and
the result determines the price per pound to be paid. The final
returns from sales are usually received by the 10th or 15th of the
month, and patrons of cooperative creameries receive their pay any
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
19
time from the 12th to the 20th of the month for the butter fat fur
nished during the preceding month.
An individual creamery is one owned by an individual, a partner
ship, or a company. It may be conducted on the plan of buying
the raw material (milk and cream) outright and making it into but
ter, the increase in value going as profit to the owner; or the raw
material may be made into butter and sold for the farmers at a
specific charge or toll for the service performed by the creamery.
Farmers furnishing milk and cream to individual creameries are
paid weekly, fortnightly, semimonthly, or monthly. When payments
are made weekly the accounts are usually computed on the price of
butter on the next Monday after the material was furnished. Checks
are forwarded Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, or until all returns
are made. When payments are made fortnightly, semimonthly, or
monthly the accounts are usually computed on the average price of
butter during the period covered by the deliveries of the material,
and in each case checks are sent within three or four days after the
termination of the period. For butter fat delivered at the creamery
the full contract or agreement price is paid, while for that gathered
by haulers a charge is deducted for hauling. This charge varies.
Sometimes it is as high as 2\ cents a pound, and sometimes as low as
a fraction of 1 cent a pound for butter fat. In some cases the basis
is the price paid at the farm. Under this practice farmers deliver
ing at the factory receive a higher price than those from whom haulers
gather the cream.
Under a joint partnership between an owner and an operator the
operator may conduct the business on one of the plans described
above and divide the net profits of the business with the owner
according to the terms of their agreement.
Centralizers draw from a wide territory and naturally come into
competition with many local factories, both cooperative and indi
vidual. To get the material, prices offered must be as high and
terms as attractive as those of competitors. So the centralizer
prices for butter fat, as well as the local creamery prices, are based
on the market price of butter and are fixed to meet competition.
Centralizers get cream from many places remote from local cream
eries, where competition may be less active. Centralizers, however,
are competing more and more with each other as the number of such
plants increases. Their prices generally hold to a uniform level for a
week and settlements are made at the prices on the day the cream
arrives at the creamery. Checks are sent to farmers the next day
after delivery of the cream in the case of establishments which pay
daily, and early in the week for the deliveries of the previous week in
the case of establishments which pay weekly.
20
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
In cooperative creameries the price paid for raw material depends
upon the net returns from the sale of the butter. In individual and
stock company creameries the price is generally fixed by agreement
or contract to pay for butter fat the price of butter currently quoted
on a selected market, such as Elgin or New York, or an agreed number
of points above or below the current butter quotations on the market
selected. In creameries making a specific charge per pound for
making butter the price received by the farmer is on the basis of the
number of pounds of butter made from the material furnished. The
whole body of milk or cream is taken and pay given for the number
of pounds of fat contained.
The farmer generally sells his products to the buyers who pay the
highest prices. Competing with local creameries for milk and cream
are not only centralizer creameries but also milk condenseries, and,
in sections which have direct and prompt shipping connections with
large cities, milk dealers. Nearly everywhere there is competition
in buying milk from producers and in many localities competition
is so active that prices are maintained at a high level.
In some sections the price paid farmers for milk by the milk con
denseries and milk dealers at times has reached $1.90 to $2 per 100
pounds. The average amount of butter obtainable from 100 pounds
of whole milk is, as previously stated, approximately 4.4 pounds.
At $1.90 per hundred for milk the cost of the butter content is approx
imately 43.18 cents per pound, and at $2 per hundred for milk the
cost of the butter content is about 45.45 cents per pound. If to these
prices be added the cost of manufacturing and distributing, which is
approximately 10 cents per pound, the butter would reach the con
sumer at 53 cents to 56 cents per pound—a price practically prohibi
tive to the average household. The demand for butter decreases
rapidly when the retail price rises to 40 cents a pound or higher and
consumers resort to the use of substitutes. Creameries located in
districts where the price of the raw material rises so high that profit
on their business means a retail price of from 45 to 55 cents a pound
for butter must go out of business.
COLLECTION OF CREAM AND MILK.
Prices for material usually are paid on the basis of material deliv
ered at the creamery. To some creameries the farmers haul their
milk or cream. Once, twice, or three times a week the farmer brings
in milk or cream, a sample is tested, the content of fat is computed,
and the farmer is credited with the number of pounds brought in
and is allowed to take a certain portion of skim milk or buttermilk.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
21
Other creameries employ haulers to gather the material. Routes
are assigned to these haulers, who go over them two or three times
a week gathering milk or cream from farm to farm. Each farmer’s
material is weighed and a sample is taken in a small bottle. Upon
arrival at the creamery the samples are tested, each farmer’s butter
fat is computed, and a record is made of the amount of butter fat
in the cream or milk which he furnishes. Patrons of these cream
eries sometimes arrange to have skim milk and buttermilk returned
to the farm, sometimes the creamery disposes of these by-products
on its own account, and sometimes they are allowed to run to waste.
Centralizers do not return the buttermilk to shippers of cream, but
sell or utilize it in some way, or throw it away.
In the beginning of the creamery industry cream was measured
by the “ inch.” Milk was poured into cans of a standard diameter
and allowed to remain long enough for the cream to separate by
gravity. The cans had a slit in the side covered with glass, a sort
of “ window,” through which could be seen the thickness of the layer
of cream. This was measured on a graduated scale along the side of
the glass-covered slit and paid for by the inch. In some cases milk
was poured into shallow pans and put aside for 24 or 36 hours, long
enough for the cream to rise to the top. The cream was then skimmed
with a hand skimmer and put into the standard can to be measured
and paid for at so much per inch of depth. In the Elgin district, for
10 years or more, a large part of the milk and cream used for making
butter has been sold on the basis of butter fat contained, but in
some places whole milk is sold by the gallon or by the 100 pounds.
Many milk-producing farms are now equipped with modern hand
centrifugal cream separators, by which the cream *is separated from
the milk more satisfactorily than by the old method of gravity and
the skimming ladle. On such farms the cream is separated from the
milk and is hauled to the creamery or railroad station by the farmer
or prepared for delivery to a hauler who is employed by the creamery
or by the patrons on the cream route to gather the cream from the
farmers. Other farmers haul or send whole milk to the creamery,
where it is separated by power separators, and usually the skim milk
is returned to the farmers, who feed it to hogs and calves. The usual
custom is to pay the farmer for the number of pounds of butter fat
furnished, but in some instances he receives pay on the basis of the
proportionate number of pounds of butter made from the material
supplied. In the creameries where milk is paid for by the gallon or
by the 100 pounds the farmer may or may not get back the skim
milk, depending on his agreement with the creamery.
22
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
SEASONAL VARIATION IN PRODUCTION, AND EFFECT OF COLD
STORAGE.
The average output of butter for a given territory for the winter
months of December, January, and February is usually much lower
than the average output of the same territory for the months of May,
June, and July. The other months show a gradual movement from
the low point of production to the high point, or from the high to the
low point, as the case may be. Nearly all creamery butter goes into
the channels of trade through the agency of wholesale dealers or dis
tributors. Dealers who obtain the product from the creameries are
generally known as receivers. Many of them have seasonal or annual
contracts or agreements to take the entire output of certain cream
eries on a sliding scale of prices based on the quotations of a selected
standard market, such as Elgin or New York. They strive to engage
the output of as many high-grade creameries as possible and keen
competition exists between them. They undertake to get in touch
with enough buyers, largely retail dealers, to find a steady outlet for
all their receipts, and here also there is a wide-awake rivalry in trade.
Care in handling butter is necessary to prevent its rapid and serious
deterioration. The quality and quantity of butter are affected by
the quality and quantity of raw material produced. The raw mate
rial in turn depends on weather conditions, the crops, and the prices
of feed. The care exercised in handling and in transportation affects
the raw material as well as the manufactured product. Refrigerator
cars carry butter from the creameries to the markets in all parts of
the country, where it is delivered to the consumer in practically as
good condition as the product sold to the trade in the districts where
the creameries are located.
In the summer months when production is large and butter plen
tiful, considerable quantities are put in cold storage, to be placed on
the market in winter, when the supply of fresh goods is small and
prices are usually higher. This helps to absorb the large output in
the season when production exceeds current consumption and to
maintain the prices at a level to stimulate production. In the sea
son when production falls short of current consumption the storage
warehouse supplies part of the goods to meet the demands.
Butter manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, and speculators store
butter to hold it for better prices at some later date, and retailers
handle storage goods as well as fresh stock. While the prices shown
in this report relate to fresh creamery buttei, they are, of course,
largely influenced by the volume of business passing through the
refrigerator warehouses in the various trade and storage centers. The
prices of fresh butter range a few cents higher than the prices of stor
age goods, and when the price of one class goes up or down the price
of the other rises or falls accordingly.
23
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
Dealers have found that prices are not always higher when butter
comes out of storage than when it goes in. A notable experience for
dealers storing butter was recorded in the season of 1910 and 1911.
In some of the western markets an unusual amount of butter was
stored in June, July, and August, 1910, and large quantities of it were
held until January, February, and March, 1911.
Below are given the quotations on the Elgin board for those months.
These prices formed the basis on which settlements were largely made
in the transactions illustrated.
E L G IN B O A R D P R IC E S OF B U T T E R F O R JU N E , J U L Y , A N D A U G U S T , 1910, A N D F O R
J A N U A R Y , F E B R U A R Y , A N D M A R CH , 1911.
[Quotations from the Elgin Dairy R eport.]
Date, storing season.
Price per
pound.
Price per
pound.
Date, selling season.
1910.
June 6
................................................
June 13...........................................................
June 20...........................................................
June 27...........................................................
July 2.............................................................
July 11...........................................................
July 18...........................................................
July 2 5 ...
..........................................
Aug. 1.............................................................
Aug. 8.................... .......................................
Aug 15
...................................
......................
Aug 22
Aug. 29...........................................................
Cents
27
27
27
27*
27i
28
28
27
28
29
29
30
30
1911.
J an .9 ...........................................................
Jan. 16.........................................................
Jan. 23.........................................................
Jan .30.........................................................
Feb. 6.................................. .......................
Feb. 13........................................................
Feb. 20........................................................
Feb. 27........................................................
Mar. 6..........................................................
Mar. 13........................................................
Mar. 20........................................................
Mar. 27........................................................
Apr. 3 ..........................................................
Average..............................................
28. 08
Average............................................
Cents.
29
27
25
25
26
26§
26J
25J
26
26
25
24
21
25. 58
In the above table it is seen that during the storing season the
quotations ranged from 27 cents a pound in June to 30 cents a pound
in the latter part of August, 1910. In the selling season prices de
clined from 29 cents a pound during the week beginning January 9
to 21 cents a pound on April 3, 1911. This shows a maximum loss
of 9 cents per pound in the published prices between the highest
quotation for the storing season and the lowest price reached in the
selling season. A simple average of the quotations for the storing
season shows 28.08 cents per pound, and for the selling season 25.58
cents per pound, an average difference through a three months’ sell
ing season of 2.5 cents per pound against the dealer in storage goods.
If to the cost price be added the carrying charges for brokerage,
storage, insurance, cartage, and interest on money invested, it is
easy to see how disastrous was the experience to the dealers storing
butter in 1910-11, and this experience may happen in any season.
MOVEMENT OF WHOLESALE PRICES IN DIFFERENT MARKETS.
Butter markets in the various large cities keep in close
ship and almost invariably move up or down together.
trate the sympathetic movement of important markets,
shown below a table of quotations of the wholesale prices
relation
To illus
there is
of fancy
24
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
creamery butter in Elgin, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and
Boston for each Monday in the months of January and February,
1910, a period covering a sudden and extensive drop in prices.
W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S OF F A N C Y C R E A M E R Y B U T T E R IN E L G IN , N E W Y O R K , C H IC A G O ,
P H IL A D E L P H IA , A N D B O STO N F O R E A C H M O N D A Y IN J A N U A R Y A N D F E B R U A R Y ,
1910.
[Quotations from the Elgin Dairy Report.]
1910
Jan. 3 .....................................................................................
J a n .10...................................................................................
J a n .17...................................................................................
J a n .24...................................................................................
Jan. 31...................................................................................
Feb. 7 ...................................................................................
Feb. 14..................................................................................
F e b .21..................................................................................
Feb. 28..................................................................................
Elgin.
$0.36
.36
.36
.30
.31
.29
.28
.30
.31
New
York.
$0.36
.36
.36
.31
.32
.30|
.28J
.32
.33
Chicago.
Philadel
phia.
$0.36
.34
.34
.31
.30
.28
.26
.30
.30
$0.38
.38
.36
.33
.32
. 301
.29
.32
.33
Boston.
$0.34i
.34|
.341
.33
.32i
.31
.30
.31
.31J
The first decline appeared in Chicago on Monday, January 10, the
extent of it being 2 cents per pound. The next Monday, January
17, showed a 2-cent reduction in Philadelphia. Following that, the
prices again broke during the week, and the next Monday, January
24, showed over the previous Monday a net decline per pound of 6
cents in Elgin, 5 cents in New York, 1| cents in Boston, and an addi
tional loss of 3 cents per pound in Chicago and in Philadelphia. A
still further depreciation followed, until February 14, when the low
est Monday prices of the decline were reached—namely, 28 cents in
Elgin, 28^ cents in New York, 26 cents in Chicago, 29 cents in Phila
delphia, and 30 cents in Boston; a total loss from January 3 of 8
cents in Elgin,
cents in New York, 10 cents in Chicago, 9 cents in
Philadelphia, and 4J cents in Boston. The prices on the several
markets reached their lowest level for that period of depression
simultaneously, and then began to rise all along the line.
Market quotations can not record all the transactions of the mar
ket. When the market is active, the demand great, and competi
tion among buyers keen, the actual purchases are generally made
at prices slightly higher than the market quotations. Buyers fre
quently resort to the payment of premiums to attract the best goods
and obtain large quantities. On the other hand, when the market
is overstocked, the arrivals of fresh goods appear to be sufficient to
supply the current demand, and everybody who has butter to sell
is so eager to dispose of it that many sales are made below the market
quotations.
BUTTER PRICES AND MARGINS FOR 16 CREAMERIES.
Table I, which follows, is compiled from data taken from the records
of 16 creameries and shows the number of pounds of butter fat bought
and of butter made therefrom, the per cent of overrun, and the average
creamery prices and margins for each of the establishments in the
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER,
25
months of June and December, 1904, 1910, and 1911. The table is
followed by a detailed description of the plan of operation of each
creamery and the methods of handling the material on which the
prices are based.
Under the head of average price paid for butter fat the price per
pound paid by creameries to the farmers is first given and following
this is shown the average price of the fat in 1 pound of butter, com
puted on the basis of the per cent of overrun, as given in the third
figure column. The overrun, as previously explained, is the amount
of constituents other than butter fat in a given weight of butter,
these constituents consisting mainly of water, casein or curd, and
milk sugar, which are not considered in the price, and the percentage
of overrun is the per cent which the weight of these constituents is of
the weight of the butter fat. The small quantity of salt in the butter
affects the price so slightly that it has not been separated from the
other items which compose the creamery margin. In the next to
last column is shown the price per pound received by the creamery
for butter delivered f. o. b. at the shipping station. The difference
between this price and the price paid for the fat in 1 pound of butter
is the creamery margin, which is shown in the last column.
For individual creameries this creamery margin constitutes the
source from which the expenses of operating the plant are paid and
from which the profits may accrue. For cooperative creameries the
creamery margin shows for the period indicated the difference be
tween the price received for butter f. o. b. shipping station and the
price paid to the farmers for butter fat delivered at the creamery.
Individual plants which utilize by-products and resell milk and cream
and other materials, such as ice and coal, may increase their income
by such incidental means, and thereby be able to pay a higher rate for
butter fat, thus reducing the creamery margin, or where competition
is not active this income may be turned into profits, thus increasing
the creamery margin. Cooperative creameries which follow similar
methods may derive considerable revenue from incidental sources,
and when that income is applied to the payment of the operating
expenses of the plant there is available a larger amount of the receipts
to be distributed among the farmers, making for them a higher price
for butter fat and thereby narrowing the creamery margin.
There is considerable variation in the methods of both individual
and cooperative creameries in respect to the handling of by-products
and the reselling of materials. In either class of creameries where
whole milk is received the farmers generally are allowed to take
back the skim milk and buttermilk, or may be paid on the basis of
leaving the by-products at the creamery, where they are handled for
whatever profit may be obtained. In creameries where cream is
received the farmers may get back their portion of the buttermilk, or
26
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
it may be allowed to run to waste or the creamery may make arrange
ments to sell it to advantage. Creameries generally are giving more
attention to by-products than they did in the earlier days of creamery
operations. Some have recently begun experiments in making and
marketing cottage cheese. Another custom followed by some co
operative establishments which may affect the creamery margin is
that of setting aside a surplus, or “ sinking fund/’ when the returns
are high and drawing on that surplus to equalize prices for butter fat
when returns are low and might cause dissatisfaction among the
patrons. The surplus may be carried along for several months and
then be largely reduced in a single month by the payment for butter
fat of a “ banner price/7 which would be higher than the returns for
the month would justify. In some establishments there is maintained
a regular scale of prices for butter fat, such as “ Elgin, even/' “ 2
cents above New York for Western Extras/’ or a like standard for a
certain number of payments, say five months, then at the next pay
ment the surplus is distributed among the patrons as a dividend.
So few of the creameries considered in this report had preserved
details relating to sales of by-products and resales of incidental mate
rials that it is impracticable to incorporate those items into the
tabulations, although in some establishments such transactions had
considerable influence on the creamery margin.
I.—PO U N D S O F B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E A C H
OF 16 C R E A M E R IE S , B Y P E R IO D S , JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
T able
Creamery No. 1 (individual).— Whole milk delivered at creamery, 'patrons getting back skim milk and butter
milk.
Month and year.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904.............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910.............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
Pounds
of but
ter fat
bought.
0)
0)
C1)
0)
C1)
0)
Pounds
of butter
made
there
from.
7 ,134
3,118
8,003
4, 908
7, 410
3,300
Average
per cent
of
overrun.
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
0)
0)
(n
(n
C1)
8
(i)
0)
0)
W
Average
price per Average
pound, creamery
f. o. b. re margin
ceived b y
per
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
$0.1450
.2375
.2413
.2675
.1950
.3250
2 $0.1750
2 .2688
2 .2729
2 .2983
2 .2287
2 .3554
SO.0300
.0313
.0316
.0308
.0337
.0304
Creamery No. 2 (individual).— Whole milk delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and butter
milk.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904.............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910.............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911.............................
1 Not reported.
0)
(0
0)
0)
C1)
0)
11,948
8,066
7,526
4,579
7,061
3,361
C1)
0)
0)
C1)
C1)
0)
2 W rapped in 1-pound prints.
C1)
C1)
V}
(V
(0
0)
$0.1441
.2306
.2365
.2639
.1942
.3209
3 SO.1761
3.2690
3 .2713
3 .2980
3 .2238
3 .3560
3 In various pockages.
SO. 0320
.0384
.0348
.0341
.0296
.0351
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER,
27
1.—PO U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E A C H
OF 16 C R E A M E R IE S , B Y P E R IO D S , JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Contd.
T able
Creamery No. 3 ( individual).— Whole milk delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and butter
milk.
Month and year.
June, 1904.......................................
Decem ber, 1904..............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910.............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
Pounds
of but
ter fat
bought.
0)
C1)
C1)
0)
C1)
0)
Pounds
of butter Average
per cent
made
of
thereoverrun.
ffrom.
0)
C1)
C1)
(1)
C1)
C1)
13.0
19.0
15.8
18.0
17.4
18.0
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
$0.1775
.3000
.2950
.3300
.2500
.4025
Average
price per Average
pound, creamery
f. o. b. re margin
ceived b y
per
creamery ' pound.
In one
pound of for butter.
butter.
$0.1576
.2527
.2571
.2800
.2129
.3411
2 $0.1726
2 .2680
2 .2715
2 .2986
2 .2244
2.3560
$0.0150
.0153
.0144
.0186
.0115
.0149
Creamery No. 4 (individual).— Whole milk delivered at creamery, 'patrons getting back skim milk and butter
milk.
June, 1904.........
December, 1904.
June, 1910.........
December, 1910.
June, 1911.........
December, 1911.
8
0)
0)
0)
C1)
(1)
(l)
C1)
$0.149
.242
.255
.290
.205
.330
s $0.245
3 .337
3 .350
3 .378
3 .305
3 .420
<$0 096
4 095
4 095
4 088
4 100
4 090
Creamery No. 5 (individual) .— Cream delivered at creamery, patrons getting back buttermilk.
June 1 to 15,1904..........................
June 16 to 30, 1904........................
Dec. 1 to 15,1904...........................
Dec. 16 to 31, 1904.........................
June 1 to 15,1910..........................
June 16 to 30,1910........................
Dec. 1 to 15,1910...........................
Dec. 16 to 31,1910.........................
June 1 to 15,1911..........................
June 16 to 30,1911........................
Dec. 1 to 15,1911...........................
Dec. 16 to 31, 1911........................
26,684
27,510
8,622
9,818
24,731
23,115
11,092
11,952
27,615
29,141
13,123
11,855
31,270
32,023
10,672
10,877
29,029
26,060
13,334
14,385
34,770
36,952
15,178
14,447
17.2
16.4
23.8
10.8
17.4
12.7
20.3
20.4
25.9
26.8
15.7
21.9
$0.1698
. 1699
.2835
.2626
.2924
.2876
.3116
.3167
.2306
.2410
.3717
.4018
$0.1449
.1460
.2290
.2370
.2490
.2552
.2590
.2632
.1832
.1901
.3214
.3297
e $0.1769
&.1765
5.2640
5.2734
5 .2743
&.2803
5.3017
5.2947
5 .2273
5 .2390
5.3648
5.3677
$0.0320
.0305
.0350
.0364
.0253
.0251
.0427
.0315
.0441
.0489
.0434
.0380
Creamery No. 6 (individual).— Cream and milk delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and butter
milk.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904..............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910..............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
23,302
12,408
53,030
23,264
49,629
18,824
26,467
14,333
64,029
28,192
60,387
23,407
13.6
15.5
20.7
21.4
21.7
24.0
$0.1630
.2640
. 3000
. 3230
.2390
.3900
$0.1435
.2286
.2486
.2661
.1964
.3145
e $0.1810
6.2750
6 .2780
6 .3030
6 .2280
6 .3580
1 N ot reported.
2 W rapped in 1-pound prints.
3 In various packages.
4 In 60-pound tubs.
6 Prints in cartons delivered to consumer.
« Margin between price received b y farmer and price paid b y consumer.
SO. 0375
.0464
.0294
.0369
.0316
.0435
28
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
I .—P O U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E A C H
OF 16 C R E A M E R IE S , B Y P E R IO D S , JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Contd.
T able
Creamery No. 7 (individual).— Cream gathered by haulers, buttermilk sold by creamery.
Month and
year.
June, 1904..........
December, 1904.
June, 1910..........
A v
B u t er
Pounds ter
age
of
butter made per
there
cent
fat
from
of
bought.
(lbs.) over
run,
Per pound.
Bonus
To
to
farmer. hauler.
Total.
Average
price
A ver
per
age
pound cream
In one pound of butter. f. o. b.
ery
received margin
by
per
cream
Bonus
pound.
To
to
Total. ery for
farmer.
butter.1
hauler.
$0.1617 $0.0023 SO.1640 $0.1484
2.2508
2.0088 2.2596 2 . 2290
20,113 21,912
5,655 6,191 9.5
7,039 7,779 10.5
December, 1910.
2,983 3,412 14.4
June, 1911..........
11,084 12,651 14.1
December, 1911.
Average price paid for butter fat delivered
at creamery.
3,854 4,168
8.2
$0.0021 $0.1505
2.2370
3.2539
3.0097
3.2636
3.2319
7.2715
s. 2712
7.0116
8.0103
7.2831
8.2815
7. 2457
8.2454
0105
0093
7. 2562
2.2897
2.0143
3.0166
7.0072
8.0074
2.0090
2.3040
2 .2532
2.2660
3.3162
7.2169
3.2619
7. 1838
8.1924
2.3177
«. 3184
0128
0145
0063
0065
0083
0067
3.3251
3.2996
7.209'
s. 2195
2.3437
3.3445
3.0073
2.3527
3.3518
8.2547
s. 2764
7. 1901
8.1989
2.3260
10.1750 $0.0245
2.0280
2 . 2650
4.2650 4.0242
5.2700 6.0292
e. 2800 6.0392
7.2700 7.0138
9.2700 9.0153
10. 2750 10. 0203
11. 2900 11. 0240
12.3000 12.0340
3.3000 3 . 0236
7.2200 7.0299
13.2200 13.0211
14.2300
2.3500
is. 3500
is. 3600
14.0311
2 . 0240
is. 0249
16.0349
Creamery No. 8 (individual).— Cream gathered by haulers, buttermilk sold by creamery.
June, 1904.
December, 1904.
June, 1910.
December, 1910.
June, 1911
December, 1911.
13,159 13,654
3,573 3,856
14,687 16,744
3,459 4,065
13,439 15,178
2,963 3,196
1 In 60-pound tubs.
2 Dec. 1 to 15.
3 Dec. 16 to 31.
4 Dec. 16 to 22.
P $0.1410
7$0.1523 7$0.1349 7$0.0108 7$0.1457 7$0.1750 7$0.0293
4.5 \ 8.1409 "SO.0113
8.0109 8. 1518 8. 1348 8. 0104 8. 1452 8.1750 8.0298
f 2.2302 2.0136 2.2438 2.2133 2.0126 2.2259 2.2650 2.0391
7.9 \
f 4.2650 4.0305
I 3.2352 3.0178 3.2530 3.2180 3.0165 s. 2345 < 5.2700 5.0355
I 6.2800 6.0455
f 7.2634 7.0166 7.2800 7.2311 7.0146 7.2457 7.2700 7.0243
14.0 { 8.2649 8.0240 8.2889 8.2324 8.0211
/
9.2700 9.0244
8.2535 \ io.
2750 io. 0294
/
ii.
2900 ii. 0361
f 2.2876 2.0109 2.2985 2.2447 2.0092 2.2539
17.5
\ 12.3000 12.0461
1 3.2902 3.0088 3.2990 3.2470 3.0075 3.2545 3.3000 3.0455
f 7.2173
7.0119 7.2292 7.1923 7.0105 7.2028 7. 2200 7.0172
12.9 t 8.2254
13. 2200 13.0088
8.0131 8.2385 8.1996 8.0116 8.2112 /\ 14.
2300 14.0188
f 2.336 I 2.0198 2.3559 2.3117 2.0184 2.3301 2.3500 2.0199
7.8 { 3.3444
3.0219 3.3663 s. 3195 3.0203 3.3398 / 15.3500 15.0102
\ 16.3600 16.0202
6 Dec. 24 to 29.
6 Dec. 31.
7 June 1 to 15.
s June 16 to 30.
9 June
10 June
11 Dec.
12 Dec.
16 to 25.
27 to 31.
1 to 10.
12 to 14.
13 June 16 and 17.
14 June 19 to 30.
16 Dec. 16 to 21.
16 Dec. 23 to 30.
29
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
I —PO U N D S O F B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E A C H
OF 16 C R E A M E R IE S , B Y P E R IO D S , JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Contd.
T able
Creamery No. 9 (cooperative).— Whole milk delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and buttermilk.
Month and year.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904 ............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910..............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
Pounds
of but
ter fat
bought.
32,876
16,278
38,440
21,225
38,527
17,210
Pounds
of butter
made
there
from.
Average
per cent
of
overrun.
39,077
19,133
47,994
25,620
45,477
20,259
18.9
17.6
24.9
20.5
18.8
17.6
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
$0.19
.29
.35
.34
.27
.40
Average
price per Average
pound creamery
f. o. b. re margin
ceived by
per
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
SO.1598
.2467
.2802
.2813
.2287
.3398
i $0.1713
i .2651
i .2882
i .2965
i .2406
i .3675
$0.0115
.0184
.0080
.0152
.0119
.0277
Creamery No. 10 (cooperative).— Cream delivered at creamery, buttermilk sold by the association.
June 1 to 15, 1904..........................
June 16 to 30, 1904.........................
Dec. 1 to 15, 1904...........................
Dec. 16 to 31, 1904.........................
June 1 to 15, 1910..........................
June 16 to 30, 1910.........................
Dec. 1 to 15, 1910...........................
Dec. 16 to 31, 1910.........................
June 1 to 15, 1911..........................
June 16 to 30, 1911.........................
Dec. 1 to 15, 1911...........................
Dec. 16 to 30, 1911.........................
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
SO. 18
.17
.27
.28
4 .31
4 .31
4 .35
4 .35
4 .26
4 .27
4 .38
4 .42
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
3SO.1750
3 .1760
3 .2650
3 .2700
3 .2750
3 .2779
3 .2989
3 .3025
3 .2303
3.2364
3 .3544
3.3625
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(2)
Creamery No. 11 (cooperative).—M ilk and cream delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and
buttermilk.
June, 1904:
Hand-separator cream .........
W hole m ilk.............................
December, 1904:
Hand-separator cream .........
W hole milk ..........................
June,
1910: Hand-separator
cream ...........................................
December, 1910: Hand-separator
cream ...........................................
June,
1911: Hand-separator
cream ...........................................
December, 1911: Hand-separator
cream ...........................................
11,393
5,936
12,170
|
6,813
4,951
2,140
5,236
2,365 }
/ $0.1553
10.3 \ . 1595
/
10.5 \
$0.1454
.1480
5SO.1672
5 .1712
SO. 0218
.0232
.2602
. 2550
.2460
.2215
5 .2614
5 .2565
.0154
.0350
24,342
29,955
23.0
.3173
.2579
e .2733
.0154
12,000
14,506
20.9
.3180
.2631
6.2849
.0218
26,234
31,825
21.3
.2683
.2211
«.2353
.0142
10,490
12,138
15.7
.3986
.3445
6.3674
.0229
Creamery No. 12 (cooperative).—.M ilk and cream delivered at creamery, patrons getting back skim milk and
buttermilk.
Two weeks ending—
June 20, 1904...........................
July 4, 1904..............................
Dec. 19, 1904............................
Jan. 2, 1905..............................
June 13, 1910..........................
June 27, 1910...........................
Dec. 12,1910..........................
Dec. 26,1910............................
June 12,1911...........................
June 26,1911...........................
Dec. 11,1911............................
Dec. 25, 1911............................
6,844
6,947
2,165
2,196
18,930
18,948
8,340
8,167
18,513
18,264
6,819
7,130
8,111
8,108
2,546
2,526
22,951
23,239
10,427
10,164
22,670
21,947
8,226
8,563
18.5
16.7
17.6
15.0
21.2
22.6
25.0
24.5
22.5
20.2
20.6
20.1
7 SO. 18
7 .18
7 .25
7.27
8 .32
8 .33
8 .37
8 .35
8 .26
8 .27
8 .40
8 .42
SO. 1519
.1542
.2126
.2348
.2640
.2692
.3000
.2811
.2122
.2246
.3317
.3497
S 0i.1683
i . 1651
1 .2474
i .2673
i . 2793
i .2848
i . 3073
i . 2989
i . 2285
i . 2358
1 .3525
i .3678
1 In 60-pound tubs.
8 Not reported.
3 In 63-pound tubs.
4 Nonstockholders were paid 1 cent less per pound than the price shown.
6 In tubs.
« In boxes, packed solid.
7 For butter fat in whole milk.
8 For butter fat in hand-separator cream.
SO. 0164
.0109
.0348
.0325
.0153
.0156
.0073
.0178
.0163
.0112
.0208
.0181
30
BULLETIN OF THE BUEEAU OF LABOE STATISTICS.
I.—PO U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E A C H
O F 16 C R E A M E R IE S , B Y P E R IO D S , JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Concld.
Table
Creamery No. IS {cooperative).— Cream gathered by haulers paid by creamery, buttermilk sold by creamery.
Month and year.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904..............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910..............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
Pounds
of but
ter fat
bought.
0)
0)
74,070
36,355
74,247
28,278
Pounds
of butter
made
there
from.
Average
per cent
of
overrun.
90,008
35,771
87,852
43,393
87,543
33,637
0)
0)
18.5
19.0
18.0
19.0
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream-*
ery.
Per
pound.
(2)
(2)
$0.3150
.3500
.2600
.4200
Average
price per Average
pound creamery
f. o. b. re margin
ceived b y
per
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
$0.1589
.2587
.2658
.2941
.2203
.3529
3 s o .1742
3 .2651
3 .2731
3.3005
3.2326
3.3530
$0.0133
.0064
.0073
.0064
.0123
.0001
Creamery No. 14 (cooperative).— Cream gathered by haulers paid by creamery, buttermilk sold by creamery.
June, 1904..........
December, 1904.
June, 1910..........
December, 1910.
June, 1911...........
December, 1911..
13,711
5,325
25,542
12,816
26,774
12,172
16,382
6,413
30,730
15,839
32,065
14,990
19.5
20.4
20.3
23.6
19.8
23.2
4 $0.15
4.22
4.28
4.31
4.23
4.38
4 $0.1255
4.1826
4.2327
4.2508
4.1920
4.3085
s SO.1618
a. 2537
s. 2649
s. 2887
5.2225
s. 3534
s $0.0363
«. 0711
e. 0322
e. 0379
6.0305
®. 0449
Creamery No. 15 (cooperative).— Cream gathered by haulers paid by creamery, buttermilk sold by creamery.
June, 1904.......................................
December, 1904..............................
June, 1910.......................................
December, 1910..............................
June, 1911.......................................
December, 1911..............................
83,501
38,556
78,417
47,451
78,606
33,465
90,116
42,638
97,126
58,762
92,855
41,073
7.9
10.6
23.9
23.8
18.1
22.7
SO. 1704
.2707
.3146
.3266
.2600
.4000
SO. 1579
.2448
.2539
.2638
.2202
.3260
5SO.1713
5.2659
s. 2794
5.2830
5. 2330
s. 3547
SO. 0134
.0211
.0255
.0192
.0128
.0287
Creamery No. 16 (centralizer).— Cream received by rail, buttermilk utilized by creamery.
June, 1904........ .
December, 1904.
June, 1910........ .
December, 1910.
June, 1911........ .
December, 1911.
249,904
124,929
260,763
65,814
160,825
90,457
304,474
152,963
324,487
81,470
199,854
111,429
21.8
22.5
24.4
23.8
24.4
23.2
SO.1645
.2545
.2670
.2957
.2068
.3332
SO. 1351
.2078
.2146
.2389
.1662
.2705
7SO. 1677
7.2628
7.2704
7.3003
7.2268
7.3453
7SO. 0326
7.0550
7.0558
7.0614
7.0606
7.0748
1 N ot reported.
2 Cream bought b y the inch.
3 Prints.
4 Price paid farmer after deducting cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
5 In 60-pound prints.
6 Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
7 Prints in cartons sold direct to retailers, w hich explains the large margin.
Creamery No. 1 is a small factory owned by an individual and
operated on the plan of charging farmers a certain price per pound
for making and selling butter. No records were kept of the number
of pounds of butter fat used, as farmers were paid on the basis of
the number of pounds of butter made and sold. Nor had the records
of overrun been preserved, but the manager stated that the overrun
averaged from 18 to 20 per cent. The price paid the farmer during
the whole time was the net price per pound of butter received at the
shipping station less the creamery margin, and represents the price
of butter fat in one pound of butter.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
31
There was a measure of cooperation in some of the work. Farmers
took turns in hauling the butter to the shipping station, 5 miles away,
without cost to the creamery. They also hauled coal and put up ice
in the winter, the only expense to the creamery being the cost of
“ beer and lunch” while doing the work. The output was wrapped
in 1-pound prints, boxed, and shipped on Thursday, to arrive in
Cincinnati or Pittsburgh the following Monday. It was paid for
f. o. b. shipping station at the Elgin quotation the day of arrival at
destination. Remittances came promptly and the farmers received
their pay about the 10th of the month for milk delivered during the
preceding month. This creamery is one of three or four operated by
one man.
Creamery No. 2 is one of a dozen or more operated by a firm of
wholesale provision manufacturers and dealers. It is operated on the
same plan as No. 1 inasmuch as there is a certain charge per pound
for making and selling the butter. This output was handled in vari
ous kinds of packages, consisting of tubs and boxes of various sizes,
packed solid, and prints in boxes of different sizes. It was shipped
on Thursday to reach market on Monday, billed f. o. b. shipping
station, at the following scale: For 60-pound tubs, Elgin quotation
day of arrival at destination; for 30-pound tubs, one-half cent above
Elgin; for 5-pound boxes, packed solid, and 1-pound prints in boxes,
1 cent above Elgin. Creamery sales were made on 60 to 90 days’
time, but farmers were paid by the 10th or 12th of the month for
the butter fat furnished during the preceding month, which virtually
amounts to the firm buying the butter from the farmers at the end
of the month at the average market price for the month and selling
it on time.
Creamery No. 3 is owned and operated by a firm which controls
several creameries and deals extensively in butter and cheese. It is
in a locality where there is considerable competition for milk and the
price of butter fat is bid up to a level that brings the price for the
fat in 1 pound of butter considerably higher than that shown in
creameries Nos. 1 and 2. As the price of butter f. o. b. is approxi
mately uniform for these creameries, No. 3 paying the highest price
to the farmer, must manufacture and sell its output on a closer mar
gin than either No. 1 or No. 2, its competitors in the butter market.
These three concerns are competitors in the butter market, as trans
portation facilities and refrigerator cars enable all of them to supply
goods to the butter markets throughout the North, East, and South.
But they are not competitors for the raw material. They are some
what widely separated and each gathers milk and cream from near
by farmers only.
A general idea of the variation in prices and margins in these
three creameries is given in the following table, which presents
71510°—Bull. 164—15------3
32
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
simple averages of prices and margins in each plant for the six monthly
periods covered:
A V E R A G E P R IC E S OF F A T IN 1 PO U N D OF B U T T E R , A V E R A G E P R IC E S P E R P O U N D
OF B U T T E R F. O. B. S H IP P IN G S T A T IO N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y M A R G IN S F O R
T H E S IX P E R IO D S IN E A C H OF T H R E E S E L E C T E D C R E A M E R IE S .
Creamery.
Average
price of
fat in 1
pound of
butter.
Average
price per
pound of
butter
f. o. b.
shipping
station.
Average
creamery
margin.
No. 1 ...................................
No. 2...................................
No. 3 ...................................
SO. 2352
.2307
.2502
SO. 2665
.2657
.2652
SO. 0313
.0350
.0150
The above illustration shows that the prices per pound of butter
fat vary more widely than do the prices received for butter by the
creameries. Creameries Nos. 1 and 2 had less competition with milk
dealers than No. 3. The butter output of the three creameries
brought very nearly a uniform price notwithstanding the fact that
the output of No. 1 was cut into 1-pound prints and wrapped in
parchment paper, part of the output of No. 2 was cut into prints
and wrapped, part packed in small tubs and part in 60-pound tubs,
while the entire product of No. 3 was marketed in 60-pound tubs.
Creamery No. 4 belongs to an individual. Whole milk is brought
to the creamery by the farmers, who get back skim milk and butter
milk. Payments for raw material are made on the basis of butter
made. The records of butter fat and overrun had not been pre
served and the number of pounds of butter made and sold could not
be ascertained.
The product is marketed on an unusual plan. It is shipped to
various cities and delivered at residences of consumers, by agents
of the creamery, where there are enough customers to justify a
delivery agency, and by express companies where the customers are
fewer.
Prices paid by this creamery to farmers for raw material may be
justly compared with prices paid by other creameries for raw mate
rial, as they are on the same basis in buying milk. But prices received
for butter should be compared with the prices received by retailers
of butter, for this creamery sells directly to consumer, and there
fore competes with local retail trade. The margins of difference
between the buying prices and selling prices should not be compared
with like margins of other creameries. The margins of other cream
eries represent the differences between the price paid farmers for the
fat in a pound of butter and the price per pound received by the
creamery for butter at shipping station, while the margins for No. 4
represent the difference between the price paid farmers for the fat
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
33
in a pound of butter and the price per pound received by the cream
ery for butter delivered at the residence of the consumer. In short,
the margins for Creamery No. 4 show in a single amount the total
difference between the price paid the farmer for the raw material
in a pound of butter and the price paid by the consumer for a pound
of butter delivered at his door. The manufacture and distribution
are entirely under the control of the owner of the plant. He assumes
responsibility for all the operations, pays all charges, and retains for
his profit whatever he can save of the margin between prices paid
farmers and prices received from consumers.
Creamery No. 5 is owned by a firm which operates a dozen or
more factories making butter. In the factory for which data were
obtained considerable quantities of ice cream are made, but the data
relate only to the butter making. The combination butter making
and ice cream making has little effect on the prices. Nearly all the
butter fat made into butter in this factory is delivsred at the cream
ery in cream separated on the farm and hauled by the farmers.
They may take their portion of buttermilk, and in the few cases of
farmers delivering whole milk the factory separates the cream and
the farmer gets back the skim milk and his portion of buttermilk.
This creamery makes a certain charge per pound for making butter
and also deducts fees to pay for the services of a secretary. The
charge for making may vary with the price of the monthly output.
The product is shipped in packages of various styles and sizes which
sell at varying prices. The prices f. o. b. shipping station are the
average prices of butter in all kinds of packages used for the periods
of time shown.
Creamery No. 6 is owned by a corporation. The butter fat is
delivered at the creamery. Some is delivered in cream and some
in milk by farmers, who get back skim milk and buttermilk. A
small part comes by rail in separated cream. The buttermilk from
the cream received by rail is sold or used by the creamery. The
output is cut into 1-pound prints and wrapped in parchment paper.
Farmers are paid early in the month for butter fat supplied during
the preceding month. Butter is sold on 30 to 90 days’ time.
Creameries Nos. 7 and 8 are owned and operated by a company
which operates a number of creameries. The two creameries here
shown are operated on a uniform plan. The cream is separated
from the milk on the farm and is gathered and brought to the
creamery by haulers under contract or agreement with the company.
The company stipulates to pay a hauler a minimum sum per trip or
per week for hauling cream. A charge of 2 cents per pound, or more
or less according to contract, is made against the farmer to pay for
hauling. If the sum of the charges to farmers on the hauler’s route
34
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
equals or exceeds the minimum pay for hauling agreed upon, the
hauler receives the total amount, but if it falls below the minimum
the company makes up the difference between the sum of the charges
against the farmers and the minimum pay for the hauler. This
difference is designated as a bonus. The price of butter fat paid by
the company, therefore, is higher than the price received by the
farmer.
The tables show the prices per pound paid for butter fat delivered
at the creamery, the bonus per pound paid haulers, and the total
prices per pound paid by the company for butter fat and for the fat
in 1 pound of butter. The total price paid by the creamery for the
fat in 1 pound of butter is made the basis for computing the creamery
margin since that is the price paid for the material delivered at the
creamery ready for the manufacture.
Farmers are paid for butter fat weekly by check, which is sent
early in the week for material furnished during the preceding week.
Payment for butter shipped by the company is made on the basis of
the market the day of arrival at destination, and remittances by
buyers are sent varying from the day of arrival to 30 days or more
later.
Creamery No. 9 is a cooperative association. It is managed by a
careful, capable secretary and manager. The data furnished were
complete and clear, and the results obtained could be classed as
almost ideal. Such good results are not obtained by all cooperative
creameries, but under careful supervision, with trained and efficient
butter makers using modern methods and having up-to-date appli
ances, these good results can be obtained. A great number of
creameries—cooperative, individual, and centralizer— are turning out
large quantities of high-grade product at a narrow margin of cost.
The patrons (farmers) of this creamery deliver the whole milk at
the factory. The skim milk and buttermilk are taken back by the
farmer. About one-eighth of the output is sold in local markets
and seven-eighths shipped to eastern markets where it sells at a
premium of from 1 to 2\ cents above the market quotations for
western extras.
The overrun was uniformly large, which means that a large amount
of butter was produced as compared with the amount of butter fat
.used. The output was large and of such a high grade that it com
manded a premium over the prevailing market prices. As patrons
of a cooperative establishment the farmers supplying milk to this
creamery were paid the total proceeds from sales after deducting the
expenses of operation, and therefore received a good price for their
butter fat. As a result the price of butter fat in a pound of butter
approached very closely the price per pound of the finished product,
thus making the creamery margin low.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
35
In 1904 this creamery received an average of 17.13 cents per pound
net for its June output. The expenses of the factory amounted to
1.15 cents per pound. Deducting this amount from the net price
per pound received for sales, there remains 15.98 cents to pay farmers
for the butter fat in each pound of butter made, which represented
19 cents per pound for butter fat. For June, 1910, the high overrun
and the large output with an economical expense account brought
the cost of making down to 0.80 cent per pound, enabling the farmers
to get in the aggregate for the material, unmade, within 80 cents per
100 pounds of the total net returns from the market sales. For
December, 1911, the output was smaller than for June, 1910, by
about 58 per cent, and the overrun was much lower. Some extra
expenses were incurred and the deductions for operating and main
taining the plant amounted to 2.77 cents per pound, or $2.77 per 100
on a market price considerably higher than for June, 1910.
Creamery No. 10 is a cooperative plant. Farmers delivered cream
at the factory and the buttermilk was sold by the creamery. The
only figures available back as far as June, 1904, were the prices paid
for butter fat and the net prices received for butter. As these, how
ever, are the principal items considered by dealers, the figures are
given. The farmer or producer usually talks of butter fat; the dealer
and consumer talk of butter. This creamery is conducted on the gen
eral plan of cooperative creameries. A draft for part payment
accompanies the shipping bill through a bank to the consignee, and
balances come promptly on the basis of the market the day of
arrival of butter at destination. Farmers are paid monthly on or
about the 15th of the month. For the periods shown in 1910 and
1911 patrons who were not stockholders received 1 cent per pound
less for their butter fat than the prices given in the table.
Creamery No. 11 is a cooperative plant. In 1904 the farmers
delivered both whole milk and cream. The prices paid for butter
fat in whole milk differed slightly from the prices paid for fat ’
hand-separator cream. In 1910 and 1911 only hand-separator
cream was used. In 1904 this creamery was comparatively new,
the plan of operation was not so well systematized as it became later,
and the creamery margin or cost of making shows some fluctuations.
In 1910 and 1911 the methods of operation were better understood,
the output had materially increased, and the cost of making became
more nearly uniform. In each of the later years this margin of cost
was low in June when the output was large, and somewhat higher in
December when the output was smaller. The plan of selling the
product and settling with the patrons is similar to that of other
cooperative creameries.
36
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
Creamery No. 12 is a cooperative creamery. In 1904 whole milk
was delivered to the factory by the farmers who took back the skim
milk and buttermilk. By 1910 the methods had changed, and
farmers separated the cream by hand separators on the farms and
hauled the cream to the factory, getting back their proportion of
buttermilk after each churning. Accounts were totalized and settle
ments made with farmers fortnightly on the usual plan of cooperative
creameries.
The large creamery margin or high cost of manufacturing shown
for the product of December, 1904, resulted from the low overrun
and small output. The small margin or low cost of making, shown
for the two weeks ending December 12, 1910, resulted from the
unusual overrun of 25 per cent, the larger output than for December,
1904, and the fact that there was an unusually small outlay of the
funds for expenses of operation and maintenance. Sometimes the
manager of a cooperative creamery may bring a balance forward
from a preceding period and pay it out with funds accruing in the
period to which it is brought, or even overpay the farmers for the
time just ended. In such a case and in cases where unusual ex
penses have been paid or the payment of usual expenses has been
postponed, the prices and margins are abnormally affected. The
product was marketed and proceeds distributed to farmers according
to the usual plans of cooperative creameries.
Creamery No. 13 is cooperative. The cream was gathered by
haulers paid by the creamery, and the buttermilk was sold for the
benefit of the general account of the association. In 1904, the
cream was bought by the “ inch.” Settlements with farmers were
made on the basis of the number of pounds of butter made from the
cream churned, and each farmer was paid for the number of pounds
of butter produced from the cream furnished by him. By 1910, the
Babcock test1 had been adopted, and after that farmers were paid
for the number of pounds of butter fat in the cream supplied.
Payments for hauling are included in prices paid for butter fat and
consequently in the prices paid for the fat in one pound of butter.
The buttermilk was sold at an attractive figure, and some cream
also was sold for the account of the association. There was some other
income from incidental sales of other items, such as ice, salt, coal,
old equipment, and miscellaneous supplies, and from interest at the
bank. By including the pay for gathering the cream in the prices
paid for butter fat, and by using the income from the sale of the
raw materials and by-products and from incidental sources the
secretary was able to pay the farmers so high a price for butter fat
that the creamery margins are very low. In December, 1911, the
1 See description on p. 11.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
37
amount paid to farmers was practically equal to the net amount
received for the butter f. o. b. shipping station. During 1911 the cash
balance in care of the treasurer was considerably reduced. The out
put was marketed and proceeds distributed to farmers by the usual
methods of cooperative creameries.
Creamery No. 14 is a cooperative organization. The cream is
gathered by haulers employed by the management of the creamery,
and the buttermilk is sold for the general account. Settlements are
made monthly. All but a small percentage of the output is shipped
in 60-pound tubs to eastern markets. A small percentage is sold
to local dealers and consumers. The records of this establishment
did not show separately the payments for gathering the cream and
the payments of the expenses of operating the factory. Therefore,
in the creamery margin is included all the cost from gathering the
raw material at the farms to delivering the butter at the shipping
station.
In December, 1904, with an output of 6,413 pounds, the total ex
pense ran up to 7.11 cents per pound, while in June, 1910, an output
of 30,730 pounds was produced for a toll of 3.22 cents per pound, and
in June, 1911, a still larger output of 32,065 pounds was turned out
at a cost of 3.05 cents per pound for the services performed by the
creamery. The usual methods of cooperative creameries were fol
lowed in marketing the product and distributing the proceeds to
patrons furnishing the raw material.
Creamery No. 15 is cooperative. Cream was gathered by haulers
paid from the general funds of the association. The buttermilk was
sold for the account of the general fund. Approximately 90 per
cent of the output was shipped to eastern markets. The other 10
per cent was sold to patrons, other local consumers, and local dealers.
In this creamery two methods were used in determining prices to
be paid for butter fat. According to the first method, which was in
use in the years 1904 and 1910, the amount paid monthly for butter fat
at the farm was first ascertained by deducting from the gross receipts
of the creamery the expenses of maintenance and operation and the
amount paid haulers for gathering cream. From this was calculated
to the nearest even cent the price per pound paid to farmers for their
butter fat at the farm. The total price per pound paid by the cream
ery was found by adding to the price paid the farmer the average
price per pound for gathering the cream.
According to the second method, used in the year 1911, the
amount paid monthly for butter fat at the creamery was first ascer
tained by deducting from the gross receipts the expenses of main
tenance and operation. From this was calculated to the nearest
even cent the price per pound paid for the butter fat at the creamery.
38
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
The price per pound paid the farmer at the farm was found by de
ducting the average amount per pound paid haulers from the price
paid at the creamery.
The following table shows the operation of the two methods in the
periods covered:
PR IC E S P A ID F O R B U T T E R F A T A N D F O R G A T H E R IN G C R E A M IN C R E A M E R Y N O. 15,
JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
Average price paid for butter fat.
Per pound.
Month and year.
To
farmer.
June, 1904....................
December, 1904...........
June, 1910....................
December, 1910...........
June, 1911....................
December, 1911...........
$0.1600
.2600
.3000
.3100
.2462
.3789
Total at
To
haulers. creamery
$0.0104
.0107
.0146
.0166
.0138
.0211
$0.1704
.2707
.3146
.3266
.2600
.4000
Average
price per
pound
Average
In one pound of butter.
f. o. b.
creamory
received
margin
per
by
creamery pound.
To
Total at for but
To
farmer. haulers. creamery.
ter.
$0.1483
.2351
.2421
.2504
.2085
.3088
$0.0096
.0097
.0118
.0134
.0117
.0172
$0.1579
.2448
.2539
.2638
.2202
.3260
$0.1713
.2659
.2794
.2830
.2330
.3547
$0.0134
.0211
.0255
.0192
.0128
. 0287
In this table the even prices paid to farmers for butter fat at the
farm are shown for June and December, 1904 and 1910. In June,
1904, for example, the farmers received an even 16 cents per pound
for their butter fat. By adding to this the price per pound of butter
fat paid for gathering the cream (1.04 cents) the price paid for butter
fat at the creamery is ascertained—namely, 17.04 cents. In June
and December, 1911, even prices were paid at the creamery. Thus
in June, 1911, 26 cents per pound was paid for butter fat at the
creamery. By subtracting from this the price paid for gathering
the cream (1.38 cents), the price paid to the farmer at the farm is
found—namely, 24.62 cents.
In stating farmers’ accounts under the first method the even quo
tations were used and payments were made on those prices. In
making up farmers’ accounts under the second method the even
quotations on butter fat at the creamery were used but before
payments were made the charges for hauling were deducted from the
amount resulting from the computations on the even quotations.
The table also shows, for the butter fat in 1 pound of butter, the
average prices paid to the farmers and to the haulers for gathering
the cream, together with the total at the creamery. The difference
between the prices received by the creamery for the butter f. o. b.
and the prices received by the patrons of this creamery for butter
fat is made up of the cost of making and marketing the product
represented in this creamery by the creamery margin plus the price
paid for gathering the cream. This is shown in the following table,
drawn from the detailed table, presented above:
39
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
C H A R G E S F O R G A T H E R IN G M A T E R IA L A N D M A K IN G A N D M A R K E T IN G T H E
P R O D U C T OF C R E A M E R Y N O. 15, JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
1904
1911
1910
Item.
June.
Decem
ber.
June.
Price paid for gathering fat in 1 pound of
b u tter.............................................................
$0.0096
$0.0118
$0.0097
.........................
Creamery
.0134
margin.0211
per p ou n d.0255
T otal........................................................
.0230
.0308
.0373
Decem
ber.
Decem
ber.
June.
$0.0134
.0192
$0.0117
.0128
$0.0172
.0287
.0326
.0245
. 0459
As will be seen from this table the total cost of gathering the mate
rial and making and marketing the product varied from a minimum
of 2.30 cents per pound in June, 1904, to a maximum of 4.59 cents in
December, 1911.
Creamery No. 16 is a centralizer. The cream supply is shipped
by rail by patrons living from 10 to 150 miles or more away from the
factory. Prices shown in the table are the prices paid by the com
pany for the material at the creamery station. The farmers prepay
the transportation charges and their net returns are the proceeds
of the creamery price less the shipping charges. This plant receives
cream from a large number of shippers, and the shipping distances
are so varied that it is impracticable to calculate the cost of trans
portation. The creamery officials estimated that the average cost
of shipping was from 1 to 1^ cents per pound of butter fat.
The output is cut into 1-pound prints, wrapped in parchment
paper, inclosed in double-waxed cartons, and packed in cases carry
ing 20, 30, 40, 50, or 60 pounds each.
The creamery margins appear somewhat exorbitant, but they
include all expenses from the time the butter fat is bought from the
farmer until the product is sold to the dealer. This establishment
sells largely to retailers, either direct or through its own jobbers, and
therefore for a large part of the output the creamery margin repre
sents the increase in price from the producer (farmer), through the
hands of the manufacturer and distributor (creamery) to the retailer.
For that portion of the output sold direct to retailers, the increase
added to the creamery price to make the consumer’s price cojisists of
transportation and handling charges and the retailer’s margin. The
figures represent the aggregate business and average prices for the
months given.
Naturally the centralizers draw cream from localities where there is
little competition because the supply is so limited that a local factory
could not exist. They also bid for raw materials where competition
is keenest. Their product competes with products from all other
sources. Their large volume of business enables them to keep in
touch with widely-distributed markets. They employ highly-skilled
40
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
butter makers who get the largest output and best qualities of product
obtainable from the raw materials used. The uniformly large over
run indicated in the table shows that there is little waste, and little
variation from the highest possible results.
This establishment shows an almost uniform increase in the
creamery margins in all the figures given since June 1, 1904, due, as
stated by the manager, to increased knowledge gained from experience,
and to some extent to the utilization of the by-products (buttermilk,
etc.), which were formerly wasted.
The figures for 1910 and 1911 almost uniformly show lower prices
for butter fat and lower prices for the output of butter than is shown
by the other creameries, and this notwithstanding the fact that the
centralizer prints, wraps, and packs its product in cartons while other
creameries sell in tubs; boxes, packed solid; prints, wrapped: and
prints, wrapped and packed in cartons.
Centralizers, like other establishments, buy at the lowest prices
that will attract the raw material and sell at the highest prices that
will permit an outlet for the product, and being confronted with
competition at both ends of the transaction they must do business
within the range of margins established by supply and demand, and
competition in trade, or abandon the field to other agencies.
Table II, which follows, brings together under each month the data
for the several creameries shown in Table I :
II.—PO U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E AC H
P E R IO D , JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911, B Y C R E A M E R IE S .
T able
.
June, 1904
Creamery number.
...................................
1
2 ......................................................
3 ......................................................
4 ......................................................
5 ......................................................
6 ......................................................
7 ......................................................
8 ......................................................
9
................................................
10
...................................
12......................................................
13
................................................
14......................................................
15......................................................
16......................................................
Pounds
Pounds
of butter of butter
made
fat
there
bought.
from.
Average
per
cent of
overrun.
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
7 ,134
C1)
C1)
0)
11,948
C1)
0)
C1)
13.0
$0.1775
C1)
0)
0)
0)
C1)
C1)
54,194
.1699
63,293
16.8
23,302
26, 467
13.6
.1630
21,912
8.9
.1640
20,113
.1521
13,654
13,059
4.5
39,077
18.9
32,876
.1900
.1750
C1)
C1)
0)
.1574
17,32911......................................................
18, 983
10.3
16,
219
17.6
.1800
13, 791
90,008
(3)
0)
0)
16,382
19.5
4.1500
13,711
7.9
.1704
90,116
83, 501
304,474
21.8
.1645
249,904
Average
price per Average
pound creamery
f. o. b. re margin
per
ceived by
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
SO. 1450
.1441
.1576
.1490
.1455
.1435
.1505
.1455
.1598
C1)
.1467
.1531
.1589
4.1255
.1579
.1351
SO.1750
.1761
.1726
2. 2450
.1767
.1810
.1750
.1750
.1713
.1755
.1692
.1667
.1742
.1618
.1713
e. 1677
1 N ot reported.
2 Sold direct to consumer.
3 Cream bought b y the inch.
4 Price paid farmer after deducting cost of gathering cream, not separately reported,
s Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
6 Sold direct to retailers.
$0.0300
.0320
.0150
2. 0960
.0312
.0375
.0245
.0295
.0115
0)
.0225
.0136
.0133
5.0363
.0134
6.0326
41
BUTTER PRICES^ FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
I L —PO U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E AC H
P E R IO D , JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911, B Y C R E A M E R IE S —Continued.
T able
December, 1904.
Creamery number.
1
Pounds
Pounds
of butter of butter
made
fat
there
bought.
from.
C1)
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
C1)
8
9
10
0)
C119.0
)
C17.3
)
21,549
14,333
6,191
3,856
19,133
C
1)
7,601
C110.5
)
4,361
5,072
35,771
6,413
42,638
152,963
16.3
C
1)
5,325
13
14
15
16
cl
Per
pound.
18,440
12,408
5,655
3,573
16,278
0)
7,091
11
12
3,118
8,066
Average
per
cent of
overrun.
38,556
124, 929
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
15.5
9.5
7.9
17.6
%.*
10.6
22.5
0)
0)
0)
Average
price per Average
pound
creamery
f. o. b. re margin
per
ceived b y
In one cieamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
$0.2375
.2306
.2527
.2420
.2330
.2286
.2389
.2302
.2467
$0.0313
.0384
.0153
2.0950
.0357
.0464
.0311
.0398
.0184
4.2200
.2707
.2545
.2237
.2587
4.1826
.2448
.2078
.2690
.2680
2.3370
.2687
.2750
.2700
.2700
.2651
.2675
.2590
.2574
.2651
.2537
.2659
6.2628
C1)
0)
go. 2950
0)
.2900
.3000
.2823
.2844
.3500
.3100
.3173
.3250
.3150
4.2800
.3146
.2670
$0. 2413
.2365
.2571
.2550
.2521
.2486
.2555
.2496
.2802
C1)
.2579
.2666
.2658
4.2327
.2539
.2146
$0.2729
.2713
.2715
2.3500
.2773
.2780
.2717
.2717
.2882
.2765
.2733
.2821
.2731
.2649
.2794
6.2704
$0.0316
.0348
.0144
2.0950
.0252
.0294
.0162
.0221
.0080
C1)
.0154
.0155
.0073
6.0322
.0255
6.0558
(l)
0)
C1)
$0.2675
.2639
.2800
.2900
.2611
.2661
.2712
.2542
.2813
$0.2983
.2980
.2986
2 . 3780
.2982
.3030
.2966
.2967
.2965
.3007
.2849
.3031
.3005
.2887
.2830
6.3003
$0.0308
.0341
.0186
2 . 0880
.0371
.0369
.0254
.0425
.0152
$0.3000
.2730
.2640
.2616
.2484
.2900
.2750
.2576
.2600
(3)
C
1)
.2338
C1.0252
)
.0337
.0064
6.0711
.0211
6.0550
,
June 1910.
l
2
8,003
7,526
3.
4.
5
8
55,089
64,029
7,779
16,744
47,994
6
7
8
9
0)
10
29,955
46,190
87,852
30,730
97,126
324,487
11
12
13
14
15
...................................
1
2 ..................................................
3 ....................................................
4 ....................................................
5 ......................................................
6 ......................................................
7 ..................................................
8 ......................................................
9 ...................................................
10
............................
12 ..................................................
13......................................................
14......................................................
15......................................................
16......................................................
C1)
C1)
C1)
C1)
4,908
4,579
0)
0)
0)15.8
0)15.1
20.7
10.5
14.0
24.9
0)23.0
21.9
18.5
20.3
23.9
24.4
C1)
C1)
18.0
C1)
.3142
.3230
.3101
.2988
.3400
.3500
C1)
C1)
0)
20.9
.3180
12,00011 ....................................................
14,506
16,507
20,591
24.7
.3600
36,355
43,393
19.0
.3500
12,816
23.6
4.3100
15,839
.3266
47,451
58,762
23.8
65,814
23.8
.2957
81,470
23,044
23,264
2,983
3,459
21,225
27,719
28,192
3,412
4,065
25,620
20.4
21.4
14.4
17.5
20.5
$0.3300
0)
.2631
.2906
.2941
4.2508
.2638
.2389
1 N ot reported.
2 Sold direct to consumer.
3 Cream bought b y the inch.
4 Price paid farmer after deducting coct of gathering cream, not separately reported.
5 Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
6 Sold direct to retailers.
C1)
.0218
.0125
.0064
5.0379
.0192
6.0614
42
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
II.— PO U N D S OF B U T T E R F A T B O U G H T A N D OF B U T T E R M A D E T H E R E F R O M ,
A V E R A G E O V E R R U N , A N D A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R E AC H
P E R IO D , JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911, B Y C R E A M E R IE S —Concluded.
T able
,
June 1911.
Creamery number.
1
2,
3.
4
5.
6
7
8
9
Pounds
of butter
fat
bought.
C1)
C)
C1)
0)
56,756
C1)
0)
71, 722
49,629
11,084
13,439
38,527
60,387
12,651
15,178
45,477
26,234
36,777
74,247
26,774
78, 606
160,825
31,825
44,617
87,543
32,065
92,855
199,854
C
1)
10
11
12
13
14.
15
16
Pounds
of butter
made
there
from.
Average
per
cent of
overrun.
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
7,410
7,061
0)
0)
17.4
C1)
26.3
21.7
14.1
12.9
18.8
0)
21.3
21.3
18.0
19.8
18.1
24.4
0)
Average
price per Average
creamery
pound
f. o. b. re margin
per
ceived by
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
C1)
0)
SO.2500
0)
.2358
.2390
.2219
.2338
.2700
.2650
.2683
.2650
.2600
3. 2300
.2600
.2068
SO.1950
.1942
.2129
.2050
.1867
.1964
.1945
.2070
.2287
C1)
.2211
.2184
.2203
3. 1920
.2202
.1662
SO.2287
.2238
.2244
2.3050
.2332
.2280
.2233
.2233
.2406
.2334
.2353
.2322
.2326
.2225
.2330
5.2268
SO.0337
.0296
.0115
2. 1000
.0465
.0316
.0288
.0163
.0119
C1)
.0142
.0138
.0123
4.0305
.0128
5.0606
C1)
0)
SO. 4025
C)
.3868
.8900
.3523
.3611
.4000
.4000
.3986
.4100
.4200
3.3800
.4000
.3332
'SO. 3250
.3209
.3411
.3300
.3256
.3145
.3256
.3350
.3398
C1)
.3445
.3407
.3529
3.3085
.3260
.2705
SO. 3554
.3560
.3560
2. 4200
.3663
.3580
.3533
.3533
.3675
.3585
.3674
.3602
.3530
.3534
.3547
s. 3453
$0.0304
.0351
.0149
2. 0900
.0407
.0435
.0277
.0183
.0277
C1)
.0229
.0195
.0001
4. 0449
.0287
5.0748
,
December 1911.
1 ......................................................
2 ......................................................
3 ......................................................
4 ......................................................
5......................................................
6 ......................................................
7 ......................................................
8 ......................................................
9 ............... ......................................
10......................................................
11......................................................
12......................................................
13......................................................
14............................ .........................
15..............................................
16......................................................
0)
C1)
0)
C1)
24,978
18, 824
3,854
2,963
17,210
0)
10, 490
13,949
28,278
12,172
33,465
90, 457
3,300
3,361
0)
0)
29,625
23,407
4,168
3,196
20,259
0)
12,138
16,789
33,637
14,990
41,073
111,429
0)
C1)
18.0
C1)
18.8
24.0
8.2
7.8
17.6
C1)
15.7
20.3
19.0
23.2
22.7
23.2
1 N ot reported.
2 Sold direct to consumer.
3 Price paid farmer after deducting cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
4 Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
5 Sold direct to retailers.
A few of the creameries kept no record of some of the items pre
sented in the tables and a small number handled their commodities
on a plan differing from the usual custom. Of the latter class,
Creamery No. 4 sold the output direct to consumers for all the
months, and No. 16 sold largely to retailers in June and December,
1910 and 1911. All the others followed the prevailing plan of selling
to wholesalers or commission houses. No. 13 bought cream by the
inch in June and December, 1904, while in the other months it bought
cream or milk by the pound of butter fat contained; all the other
creameries bought on the basis of butter fat for all the months con
sidered.
Creameries numbered 1, 2, 4, and 13 settled accounts of farmers
who supplied butter fat on the basis of the amount of butter made
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
43
and sold, which indicates the price of the fat in 1 pound of butter.
No. 10 reported the price of butter fat per pound, but furnished no
records of overrun, amount of fat bought, or amount of butter made
and sold, hence there was no basis on which to calculate for this
plant the price of fat in 1 pound of butter.
The average creamery margin per pound is shown in the last column
of the table. This, as has been explained, is the difference between
the price paid by the creamery for the butter fat in a pound of
butter and the price received by the creamery for a pound of butter.
In the cooperative creameries (Nos. 9 to 15, inclusive) the margin
represents the cost of making and selling the butter, including the
salaries and wages of officials and employees, and all expenses of
operating the factory. For other than cooperative creameries the
margin covers the cost of making, the expense of running the fac
tory, and the profit to the owners and operators of the establishment.
The table shows considerable variation in prices and margins,
which may be accounted for, in some measure, by differences in
operating expenses, overrun, competition, and distance from market.
As certain data were not available for some of the creameries and
averages for the various periods based on other than identical
creameries are not strictly comparable, only those creameries report
ing all the items for each period were considered in computing average
prices of butter fat and butter, and average creamery margins.
For 10 creameries (Nos. 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, and 15) prices of
butter fat and of butter were reported and for 9 of these creameries
figures showing the total quantity of butter fat bought and of butter
made therefrom were obtained, which furnished a basis for the
calculation of the average percentage of overrun. Creamery No. 3
did not report the pounds of butter fat bought or of butter made,
but reported the average percentage of overrun for each of the
periods.
In Table III, which follows, is presented a summary of the data
for the 10 creameries. These creameries are normal plants whose
operations have extended over a number of years, and their size is
indicated by the amount of output. They represent the prevailing
type of creameries in the country, 5 being what are termed indi
vidual creameries— that is, those conducted by private individuals,
companies, or corporations, and 5 cooperative creameries. For
comparative purposes the two types are grouped separately. The
prices and margins shown are believed to be fairly representative of
prices and margins in the various sections in which the creameries are
located. The output shown is for single creameries only and can not
be taken as indicating the relative size of the output in the various
sections. Hence simple averages of prices and margins are pre
sented for the groups and for the 10 creameries combined, without
taking into consideration the size of their output.
44
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F O R 10 C R E A M E R IE S FR O M
W H IC H C O M P L E T E R E P O R T S W E R E O B T A IN E D , B Y CLASS OF C R E A M E R Y , JUNE
A N D D E C E M B E R , 1 904, 1 910, A N D 1 911.
T a b l e I I I .—
Class of creamery and period.
JU N E,
Pounds
of butter
fat
bought.
Pounds
of butter
made
there
from.
Average
per
cent of
overrun.
0)
63,293
26,467
21,912
13,654
13.0
16.8
13.6
8.9
4.5
Average price paid
for butter fat de
livered at cream
ery.
Per
pound.
Average
price per Average
pound creamery
f. o. b. re margin
per
ceived by
In one creamery pound
pound of for butter.
butter.
1904.
Individual creameries:
No. 3 .........................................
No. 5 .........................................
N o. 6 .........................................
No. 7 ........................................
No. 8 ........................................
$0.1775
.1699
.1630
.1640
.1521
$0.1576
.1455
.1435
.1505
.1455
$0.1726
.1767
.1810
.1750
.1750
SO. 0150
.0312
.0375
.0245
.0295
.1653
.1485
.1761
.0275
.1900
.1574
.1800
2 .1500
.1704
.1598
.1467
.1531
2 .1255
.1579
.1713
. 1692
.1667
. i618
.1713
.0115
.0225
.0136
3 .0363
.0134
Average...............................
.1696
.1486
.1681
.0195
Average (10 creameries)...
.1674
.1486
.1721
.0235
.3000
.2730
.2640
.2616
.2484
.2527
.2330
. 2286
.2389
.2302
.2680
.2687
.2750
.2700
.2700
.0153
.0357
.0464
.0311
.0398
.2694
.2367
.2703
.0337
.2900
.2576
.2600
2 .2200
.2707
.2467
.2338
.2237
2 .1826
.2448
.2651
.2590
.2574
.2537
.2659
.0184
.0252
.0337
3 .0711
.0211
Average...............................
.2597
.2263
.2602
.0339
Average (10 creameries)
.2645
.2315
. 2653
.0338
.2950
.2900
.3000
.2823
.2844
.2571
.2521
.2486
.2555
.2496
.2715
.2773
.2780
. 2717
.2717
.0144
.0252
.0294
.0162
.0221
.2903
.2526
.2740
.0215
.3500
.3173
.3250
2 .2800
.3146
.2802
.2579
.2666
2 .2327
.2539
.2882
.'2733
. 2821'
.2649
.2794
.0080
.0154
.0155
3 .0322
.0255
Average................................
.3174
. 2583
.2776
.0193
Average (10 creameries)
.3039
.2554
.2758
.0204
0)
54,194
23,302
20,113
13,059
Average...............................
Cooperative creameries:
N o. 9 ........................................
No. 11.......................................
No. 12.......................................
No. 14......................................
No. 15......................................
DECEM BER,
32,876
17,329
13,791
13,711
83,501
39,077
18,983
16,219
16,382
90,116
18.9
10.3
17.6
19.5
7.9
1904.
Individual creameries:
N o. 3 ........................................
N o. 5 ........................................
N o. 6 ........................................
N o. 7 ........................................
No. 8 ........................................
0)
18,440
12,408
5,655
3,573
0)
21,549
14,333
6,191
3,856
19.0
17.3
15.5
9.5
7.9
Average...............................
Cooperative creameries:
N o. 9 ........................................
N o. 11.......................................
N o. 12......................................
N o. 14.......................................
N o. 15.......................................
JU N E ,
16,278
7,091
4,361
5,325
38,556
19,133
7,601
5,072
6,413
42,638
17.6
10.5
16.3
20.4
10.6
1910.
Individual creameries:
N o. 3 ........................................
N o. 5 ........................................
N o. 6 ........................................
N o. 7 .........................................
No. 8 .........................................
C1)
47,846
53,030
7,039
14,687
0)
55,089
64,029
7,779
16,744
15.8
15.1
20.7
10.5
14.0
A verage................................
Cooperative creameries:
No. 9 .........................................
No. 11.......................................
No. 12.......................................
No. 14.......................................
No. 15.......................................
38,440
24,342
37,878
25,542
78,417
47,994
29,955
46,190
30,730
97.126
24.9
23.0
21.9
20.3
23.9
1 N ot reported.
2 Price paid farmer after deducting cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
3 Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
45
III.—A V E R A G E C R E A M E R Y P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F O R 10 C R E A M E R IE S F R O M
W H IC H C O M P L E T E R E P O R T S W E R E O B T A IN E D , B Y CLASS OF C R E A M E R Y , JU NE
A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Concluded.
T able
Class of creamery and period.
D ECEM BER,
Pounds
Pounds of butter
of butter
made
fat
there
bought.
from.
Average
per
cent of
overrun.
Average ]Drice paid
for butiter fat delivered at creamery.
Per
pound.
Average
price per Average
pound creamery
f. o. b. re margin
per
ceived b y
In one creamery pound.
pound of for butter.
butter.
1910.
Individual creameries:
No. 3 .........................................
No. 5 .........................................
No. 6 .........................................
No. 7.........................................
No. 8 .........................................
0)
23,044
23,264
2,983
3,459
0)
27,719
28,192
3,412
4,065
18.0
20.4
21.4
14.4
17.5
Average................................
Cooperative creameries:
No. 9 .........................................
No. 11.......................................
No. 12.......................................
No. 14.......................................
No. 15.......................................
21,225
12,000
16,507
12,816
47,451
25,620
14,506
20,591
15,839
58,762
20.5
20.9
24.7
23.6
23.8
$0.3300
.3142
. 3230
.3101
.2988
SO.2800
. 2611
.2661
.2712
. 2542
$0.2986
.2982
.3030
.2966
. 2967
SO. 0186
.0371
.0369
.0254
.0425
. 3152
.2665
.2986
.0321
.3400
.3180
.3600
2.3100
. 3266
. 2813
.2631
.2906
2.2508
. 2638
.2965
.2849
.3031
.2887
.2830
.0152
.0218
.0125
3.0379
.0192
A verage................................
. 3309
.2699
.2912
.0213
Average (10 creameries)..
.3231
. 26S2
.2949
. 0267
.2500
.2358
.2390
. 2219
.2338
.2129
.1867
.1964
.1945
.2070
.2244
.2332
.2280
.2233
.2233
.0115
.0465
.0316
.0288
.0163
. 2361
. 1995
.2264
.0269
.2700
.2683
. 2650
2.2300
.2600
.2287
.2211
.2184
2.1920
.2202
.2406
.2353
.2322
.2225
.2330
.0119
.0142
.0138
8 .0305
.0128
A verage................................
.2587
.2162
.2327
.0167
Average (10 creameries)
. 2474
.2078
.2296
.0218
.4025
.3868
.3900
.3523
.3611
.3411
. 3256
.3145
.3256
.3350
.3560
.3663
.3580
.3533
.3533
.0149
.0407
.0435
.0277
.0183
.3785
. 3284
.3574
. 0290
.4 0 0 0
.3 9 8 6
.4 1 0 0
2 .3 8 0 0
.4 0 0 0
.3 3 9 8
.3 4 4 5
.3 4 0 7
2 .3 0 8 5
.3 2 6 0
.3 6 7 5
.0 2 7 7
.0 2 2 9
.0 1 9 5
s . 0 449
.0 2 8 7
A verage...............................
.3977
.3 3 1 9
.3 6 0 6
.0287
Average
.3 8 8 1
. 3301
.3590
.0289
JU N E ,
1911.
Individual creameries:
No. 3 .........................................
No. 5 .........................................
No. 6 ........................................
No. 7.........................................
No. 8 ........................................
0)
56,756
49,629
11,084
13,439
0)
*71,722
60,387
12,651
15,178
17.4
26.3
21.7
14.1
12.9
A verage............................
Cooperative creameries:
No. 9 ........................................
No. 11.......................................
No. 12......................................
No. 14.......................................
No. 15.......................................
D EC E M B ER,
38,527
26,234
36,777
26,774
78,606
45,477
31,825
44,617
32,065
92; 855
18.8
21.3
21.3
19.8
18.1
1911.
Individual creameries:
No. 3 .........................................
No. 5 .........................................
No. 6 ........................................
No. 7 ........................................
No. 8 ........................................
P)
24,978
18,824
3,854
2,963
0)
29,625
23,407
4,168
3,196
18.0
18.8
24.0
8.2
7.8
Average................................
Cooperative creameries:
No. 9 ........................................
No. 11.......................................
No. 12......................................
No. 14.......................................
No. 15.......................................
(1 0
creameries).
1 7 ,2 1 0
1 0 ,4 9 0
1 3 ,9 4 9
1 2 ,1 7 2
3 3 ,4 6 5
2 0 ,2 5 9
1 2 ,1 3 8
1 6 ,7 8 9
1 4 ,9 9 0
4 1 ,0 7 3
1 7 .6
1 5 .7
2 0 .3
2 3 .2
2 2 .7
.3674
.3 6 0 2
.3 5 3 4
.3547
1 Not reported.
2 Price paid farmer after deducting cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
3 Including cost of gathering cream, not separately reported.
46
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
An. analysis of the figures for one of the periods may be of assist
ance in understanding the table. In June, 1904, for instance, the
average price received by the 10 creameries for butter was 17.21
cents, which is theoretically the price the farmers would have re
ceived if they had made the butter at home of as good quality as the
creameries produced, had found as good a market for it as the cream
eries found, and had hauled it to the railroad station to start it to its
destination. By dealing with the creamery they were relieved of
the work and care of making the butter, the anxiety about the qual
ity, the trouble of finding a market, and the labor of hauling to the
shipping station. The creamery took the butter fat, made it into
butter, and found a market for it at a charge of 2.35 cents per pound,
or 13.7 per cent on the selling price of the product, yielding farmers
14.86 cents for the fat in one pound of butter, or 14.86 cents per
pound for unmade butter, which was at the rate of 16.74 cents per
pound for butter fat.
An interesting: fact brought out by this table is that while the
prices of butter fat and of butter have increased in later years the
average creamery margin was lower for each month in 1910 and 1911
than for the corresponding month in 1904. This margin varied from
a maximum of 3.38 cents in December, 1904, to a minimum of 2.02
cents in June, 1910. In every year the December margin exceeded
that for June, due mainly to the decrease in volume of business during
the winter months.
The table shows that in each creamery the amount of butter fat
bought and of butter made in December was much less than the
amount reported for June in each of the years, in some instances
being less than one-half. A marked increase in overrun in the
several creameries ia indicated for 1910 and 1911 as compared with
1904. In buying butter fat and selling butter competition is gen
erally so keen that the prices are held to a considerable degree of
uniformity, but there is considerable variation in the overrun
obtained and in expenses of operation. These items have such an
influence that the creamery margins vary widely, whether they mean
the expense of making, as in the cooperative factories, or the amount
apportioned between the expenses of making and the profit and loss,
as in the individual or centralizer creameries. Upon these margins
and the ability of the management to make them narrow enough to
come within the difference between the prices of butter fat and the
prices of butter established by supply and demand depend the success
of the creamery.
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
47
PRICES AND MARGINS ON VARIOUS LOTS OF BUTTER FROM
CREAMERY TO RETAILER.
While it was possible, $s shown in the above table, to ascertain
for specific quantities of butter the average price paid the farmer
for the butter fat contained in each pound of butter, the margin
received by the creamery for making and marketing the butter, and
the price received by the creamery for the butter, it was not possible
to trace all these quantities through the various handlings from the
creamery to the retailer. On the other hand data were obtained from
retail dealers in several cities which made it possible to trace back
to the creameries the prices, margins, and other charges on various
lots of butter bought by the retailers. These data are shown in
Tables IV and V which present the information in detail and in sum
mary form, respectively.
The lots covered consisted of tub butter handled by retailers in
Chicago and Philadelphia, print butter handled by retailers in Cleve
land and Pittsburgh, and both tub and print butter handled in Cin
cinnati, and were bought from creameries included in the preceding
tables. It was not practicable to get data for the same days in
the month for the various cities nor to show the quantities handled,
but price records were obtained of lots handled at periods sufficiently
distributed throughout the month to represent average conditions.
While average creamery prices based on figures thus obtained can
not be expected to correspond exactly with averages based on the
entire fortnightly, semimonthly, or monthly output of butter in all
kinds of packages for a number of creameries, as shown in preceding
tables, they do not vary greatly from such averages, as may be seen
by a comparison of the summaries in Tables III and V.
Table IV, which follows, shows in order the price per pound f. o. b.
shipping station, charges for freight and for cartage, gross price paid
by the wholesaler or receiver, the latter’s margin and his price to the
retailer, the retailer’s margin, the price paid by the consumer, and
the total margin between the creamery and the consumer, for each
lot of butter reported, together with averages for tub and for print
butter lots in the several periods in the specified cities.
71510°— Bull. 164—15------4
48
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
IV .—PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO C O N SU M E R ON V A R IO U S
LO TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A I L E R S IN S E L E C T E D C ITIE S,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
T able
CHICAGO.
i
Charges per
Price
pound for—
per
pound
f. o. b.
ship
ping Freight. Cartage.
station.
JU N E,
Tub butter:
L ot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
L ot No.
Gross
price
R e
Price
R e
Price
per
ceiver’s per
tailer’s
per
pound margin
pound
margin
pound
paid b y
per
to re
per
to
con
whole pound. tailers.
pound. sumers.
sale re
ceiver.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1904.
1............................ $0.1650 $0.0030 $0.0006 $0.1686 $0.0164 $0.1850 $0.0450 $0.2300
.0030
.0006
.0164
.1850
2............................ .1650
.0450
.2300
.1686
. 0030
.0006
.0164
. 1850
.0450
3 ...........................
.1686
.2300
.1650
4 ...........................
.0006
.0164
. 1850
.0030
.1686
.0450
.2300
.1650
$0.0650
.0650
.0650
.0650
.1650
.0030
.0006
.1686
.0164
.1850
.0450
.2300
.0650
1...........................
2...........................
3...........................
4...........................
.2450
.2600
.2600
.2700
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0006
.0006
.0006
.0006
.2486
.2636
.2636
.2736
.0164
.0114
.0164
.0164
.2650
.2750
.2800
.2900
.0350
.0450
.0500
.0500
.3000
.3200
.3300
.3400
.0550
.0600
.0700
.0700
A verage..........................
.2588
.0030
.0006
.2624
.0151
.2775
.0450
.3225
.0637
1...........................
2.......................
3...........................
4...........................
.2750
.2650
.2650
.2700
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0006
.0006
.0006
.0006
.2786
.2686
.2686
.2736
.0164
.0164
.0164
.0164
.2950
.2850
.2850
.2900
.0450
.0350
.0350
.0300
.3400
.3200
.3200
.3200
.0650
.0550
.0550
.0550
A verage..........................
.2688
.0030
.0006
.2724
.0164
.2888
.0362
.3250
.0562
1...........................
2 ...........................
3...........................
4...........................
.2850
.2850
.2950
.2950
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0006
.0006
.0006
.0006
.2886
.2886
.2986
.2986
.0164
.0264
.0164
.0164
.3050
.3150
.3150
.3150
.0550
.0450
.0450
.0450
.3600
.3600
.3600
.3600
.0750
.0750
.0650
.0650
A verage..........................
.2900
.0030
.0006
.2936
.0189
.3125
.0475
.3600
.0700
1...........................
2...........................
3...........................
4...........................
.2250
.2125
.2150
.2250
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0006
.0006
.0006
.0006
.2286
.2161
.2186
.2286
.0164
.0139
.0164
.0164
.2450
.2300
.2350
.2450
.0350
.0400
.0350
.0350
.2800
.2700
.2700
.2800
.0550
.0575
.0550
.0550
A verage..........................
.2194
.0030
.0006
.2230
.0158
.2388
.0362
.2750
.0556
1...........................
2...........................
3...........................
4...........................
.3450
.3550
.3450
.3550
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0030
.0006
.0006
.0006
.0006
.3486
.3586
.3486
.3586
.0164
.0164
.0164
.0164
.3650
.3750
.3650
.3750
.0350
.0450
.0350
.0450
.4000
.4200
.4000
.4200
.0550
.0650
.0550
.0650
Average..........................
.3500
.0030
.0006
.3536
.0164
.3700
.0400
.4100
.0600
A verage..........................
DECE M B ER,
Tub butter:
L ot No.
L ot No.
L ot No.
L ot No.
JU N E ,
Tub butter:
Lot No.
Lot No.
L ot N o.
Lot No.
1910.
D EC E M B ER ,
Tub butter:
Lot No.
L ot No.
L ot No.
Lot No.
JUNE,
T ub butter:
L ot No.
L ot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
1910.
1911.
D E C E M B ER ,
T ub butter:
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
1904.
1911.
49
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER,
I V .—P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO CON SU M ER ON V A R IO U S
LO TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C ITIE S,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Continued.
T able
CINCINNATI.
Charges per
Price
pound for—
per
pound
f. o. b.
ship
ping Freight. Cartage.
station.
Gross
price
R e
Price
R e
Price
per
ceiver’s per
tailer’s
per
pound margin
pound margin pound
paid by- per
to re
per
to con
whole pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
sale re
ceiver.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
JU N E, 1904.
Tub butter:
Lot No. 1 ........................... $0.1750 $0.0059 $0.0004 $0.1813 $0.0137 $0.1950 $0.0550 $0.2500
.0059
.0004
.0137
.1950
.0550
.1750
.1813
.2500
Lot No. 2...........................
.0004
.0059
.0137
.1813
.1950
.0350
.2300
.1750
Lot No. 3...........................
$0.0750
.0750
.0550
.1750
.0059
.0004
.1813
.0137
.1950
.0483
.2433
.0683
.1825
.0056
.0003
.1884
.0116
.2000
.0500
.2500
.0675
Tub butter:
L ot No. 1 ...........................
L ot No. 2 ...........................
L ot N o. 3 ...........................
Lot N o. 4 ....................................
Lot No. 5 ....................................
.2650
.2700
.2650
.2700
.2650
. 0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.2714
.2764
.2714
.2764
.2714
.0136
.0136
.0136
.0136
.0136
.2850
.2900
.2850
.2900
.2850
.0350
.0400
.0350
.0400
.0450
.3200
.3300
.3200
.3300
.3300
.0550
.0600
.0550
.0600
.0650
Average..........................
Print butter:
1
lo t...........
D EC E M B ER, 1904.
Average..........................
.2670
.0059
.0005
. 2734
.0136
.2870
.0390
.3260
.0590
Print butter:
Lot No. 1 ...........................
L ot N o. 2...........................
Lot N o. 3...........................
.2725
.2775
.2875
.0056
.0056
.0056
.0003
.0003
.0003
.2784
.2834
.2934
.0116
.0116
.0116
.2900
.2950
.3050
.0300
.0250
.0350
.3200
.3200
.3400
.0475
.0425
.0525
Average..........................
.2792
.0056
.0003
.2851
.0116
.2967
.0300
.3267
.0475
T ub butter:
L ot No. 1 ...........................
Lot N o. 2...........................
Lot No. 3 ...........................
L ot No. 4 ....................................
L ot No. 5 ....................................
.2700
.2750
.2750
.2700
.2750
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.2764
.2814
.2814
.2764
.2814
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.2950
.3000
.3000
.2950
.3000
.0550
.0500
.0400
.0550
.0500
.3500
.3500
.3400
.3500
.3500
.0800
.0750
.0650
.0800
.0750
J U N E , 1 910.
Average..........................
.2730
.0059
.0005
.2794
.0186
.2980
.0500
.3480
.0750
Print butter, in cartons:
Lot N o. 1 ...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
.2825
.2875
.0056
.0056
.0003
.0003
.2884
.2934
.0166
.0166
.3050
.3100
.0450
.0400
.3500
.3500
.0675
.0625
Average..........................
.2850
.0056
.0003
.2909
.0166
.3075
.0425
.3500
.0650
4 .......................... ..
5 ...........................
.3000
.3000
.2900
.3000
.3000
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.3064
.3064
.2964
.3064
.3064
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.3250
.3250
.3150
.3250
.3250
.0550
.0550
. 0650
.0550
.0550
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.0800
.0800
.0900
.0800
.0800
Average..........................
.2980
.0059
.0005
.3044
.0186
.3230
.0570
.3800
.0820
Print butter, 1 lot, in cartons.
.3000
.0056
.0003
.3059
.0166
.3225
.0575
.3800
.0800
D EC E M B ER, 1 91 0 .
T ub butter:
L ot No.
L ot N o.
Lot N o.
L ot N o.
Lot No.
1 ...........................
2...........................
3 ...........................
50
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
IV .—PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S FR O M C R E A M E R Y TO CON SU M ER ON V A R IO U S
L O TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C IT IE S ,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Continued.
T able
CINCINNATI—Concluded.
Charges per
Price
pound for—
per
pound
f. o. b.
ship
ping Freight. Cartage.
station.
JU N E ,
Tub butter:
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Gross
price
R e
Price
R e
Price
per
ceiver’s per
tailer’s
per
pound margin
pound margin pound
paid b y
per
to
re
per
to
con
whole
sale re pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
ceiver.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1911.
1........................... $0.2200 $0.0059 $0.0005 $0.2264 $0.0186 $0.2450 $0.0550 $9.3000
.0059
.0005
.2364
.0186
2............................ .2300
.2550
.0550
.3100
.0059
.0005
.2364
.0186
.2300
.2550
.0450
3...........................
.3000
.0059
.0005
.2214
.2150
.0186
4...........................
.2400
.0600
.3000
.0059
.0005
.2200
.2264
.0186
5...........................
.0550
.2450
.3000
.0059
.0005
.2364
.0186
.2300
6...........................
.2550
.0450
.3000
$0.0800
.0800
.0700
.0850
.0800
.0700
Average..........................
.2242
.0059
.0005
.2306
.0186
.2492
.0525
.3017
.0775
Print butter, in cartons:
Lot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
.2425
.2425
.0056
.0056
.0003
.0003
.2484
.2484
.0166
.0166
.2650
.2650
.0350
.0350
.3000
.3000
.0575
.0575
Average..........................
.2425
.0056
.0003
.2484
.0166
.2650
.0350
.3000
.0575
1...........................
2...........................
3...........................
4...........................
5...........................
6...........................
.3500
.3600
.3500
.3500
.3600
.3600
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0059
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.3564
.3664
.3564
.3564
.3664
.3664
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.0186
.3750
.3850
.3750
.3750
.3850
.3850
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0650
.0650
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4300
.4500
.4500
.0800
.0800
.0800
.0800
.0900
.0900
D ECEM BER,
Tub butter:
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
1911.
Average..........................
.3550
.0059
.0005
.3614
.0186
.3800
.0583
.4383
.0833
Print butter, in cartons:
Lot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
.3625
.3725
.0056
.0056
.0003
.0003
.3684
.3784
.0166
.0166
.3850
.3950
.0550
.0550
.4400
.4500
.0775
.0775
Average..........................
.3675
.0056
.0003
.3734
.0166
.3900
.0550
.4450
.0775
.1 8 1 4
.1 8 1 4
.1 8 1 4
$ 0 .0 1 3 6
.0 1 3 6
.0 1 3 6
.0 1 3 6
$ 0 .1 9 5 0
.1 9 5 0
.1 9 5 0
.1 9 5 0
$ 0 .0 5 5 0
.0 5 5 0
.0 5 5 0
.0 5 5 0
$ 0 .2 5 0 0
.2 5 0 0
.2 5 0 0
.2 5 0 0
$ 0 .0 8 0 0
.0 8 0 0
.0 8 0 0
.0 8 0 0
PHILADELPHIA.
JU N E , 1904.
Tub butter:
Lot No. 1 ............................
Lot No. 2 .....................................
Lot No. 3 .....................................
Lot No. 4 .....................................
$ 0 .1 7 0 0
.1 7 0 0
.1 7 0 0
.1 7 0 0
$ 0 .0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
0)
0)
0)
C1)
Average..........................
.1 7 0 0
.0 1 1 4
C1)
.1 8 1 4
.0 1 3 6
.1 9 5 0 .
.0 5 5 0
.2 5 0 0
.0 8 0 0
Tub butter:
Lot No. 1 ............................
Lot No. 2 .....................................
Lot No. 3 .....................................
Lot No. 4 .....................................
.2 4 5 0
.2 4 5 0
.2 6 0 0
.2 6 5 0
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
0)
0)
0)
.2 5 6 4
.2 5 6 4
.2 7 1 4
.2 7 6 4
.0 2 8 6
.0 2 8 6
.0 2 3 6
.0 2 8 6
.2 8 5 0
.2 8 5 0
.2 9 5 0
.3 0 5 0
.0 4 5 0
.0 4 5 0
.0 5 5 0
.0 4 5 0
.3 3 0 0
.3 3 0 0
.3 5 0 0
.3 5 0 0
.0 8 5 0
.0 8 5 0
.0 9 0 0
.0 8 5 0
Average..........................
.2 5 3 8
.0 1 1 4
0)
.2 6 5 2
.0 2 7 3
.2 9 2 5
. 0475
.3 4 0 0
.0 8 6 2
T ub butter:
L ot No. 1 ............................
L ot No. 2 .....................................
Lot No. 3 .....................................
Lot No. 4 .....................................
.2 7 7 5
.2 7 5 0
.2 7 5 0
.2 7 5 0
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
.0 1 1 4
0)
i1)
0)
C1)
.2 8 8 9
.2 8 6 4
.2 8 6 4
.2 8 6 4
.0 1 1 1
.0 1 3 6
.0 1 3 6
.0 1 3 6
.3 0 0 0
.3 0 0 0
.3 0 0 0
. 300 0
.0 4 0 0
.0 4 0 0
.0 5 0 0
.0 5 0 0
.3 4 0 0
. 3400
.3 5 0 0
.3 5 0 0
.0 6 2 5
.0 6 5 0
.0 7 5 0
.0 7 5 0
Average...........................
.2 7 5 6
.0 1 1 4
(')
.2 8 7 0
.0 1 3 0
.3 0 0 0
. 0450
.3 4 5 0
.0 6 9 4
$0. 1814
D EC E M B E R , 1904.
(!)
JU N E , 1910.
1 Hauled b y receeiver’s teams.
51
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
IV .—PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO CON SU M ER ON V A R IO U S
L O TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C IT IE S ,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Continued.
T able
PHILADELPHIA—Concluded.
Charges per
Price
pound for—
per
pound
f. o. b.
ship
ping Freight. Cartage.
station.
D E C E M B ER ,
Gross
price
RePrice
R e
Price
per
tailer’s
per
pound ceiver’s per
pound margin pound
paid by margin
per
to
re
per
to
con
whole
pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
sale re-
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1910.
T ub butter:
Lot No. 1..
Lot No. 2_.
Lot No. 3..
Lot No. 4..
$0.2950 $0.0114
.0114
.3025
.0114
.3025
.0114
.3025
.3725
.0719
.0211
.2500
.2550
.2550
.2600
.0500
.0550
.0550
.0600
.3000
.3100
.3100
.3200
.0825
.0825
.0750
.0825
.0114
.0114
.0114
.0114
.2294
.0114
.2550
.0550
.3100
.0806
. 3525
.3525
.3525
. 3625
.0114
.0114
.0114
.0114
.3825
.4000
.4000
.3850
.0475
.0500
.0500
.0650
.4300
.4500
.4500
.4500
.0775
.0975
.0975
.0875
.3550
.0114
.3919
.0531
.4450
.0900
Print butter:
Lot No. 1............................ $0.1742 $0.0089 $0.0005 $0.1836 $0.0114 $0.1950 $0.0250 $0.2200
.1742
.0350
.0089
.2300
L ot No. 2............................
.0005
.1836
.0114
. 1.950
.1742
.0114
.1950
. 0250
Lot No. 3............................
.0089
.0005
.1836
.2200
Lot No. 4............................
.1742
.0114
.1950
.0350
.0005
.0089
. 1836
.2300
.1950
Lot No. 5............................
.1742
.0089
.0005
.0114
. 0350
.1836
3300
.0114
.1950
Lot No. 6............................
.1742
.0089
.0005
.1836
.0450
.2400
.0114
.1950
.0350
Lot No. 7............................
.1742
.0089
.0005
. .1836
. 2300
.0005
.0114
.1950
.0250
Lot No. 8............................
.1742
.0089
.2200
.1836
$0.0458
.0558
.0458
.0558
.0558
.0658
.0558
.0458
1911.
1..
2..
3.
4..
Average...............
D EC E M B E R ,
T ub butter:
Lot No.
L ot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
.2175
.22'75
.2350
.2375
$0.0850
.0675
.0675
.0675
.0450
T ub butter:
L ot No.
L ot No.
Lot No.
Lot No.
.3120
I.0186 SO.3250 $0.0550 $0.3800
.0161
.3300
.0400
.3700
.0161
.3300
.0400
.3700
.0111
.0450
.3250
.3700
. 3275
JU N E ,
.0114
$0.3064
.3139
.3139
.3139
.0155
A verage...........
.3006
(V)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
.2289
.2389
.2464
.2489
0)
V)
0)
0)
0)
.3639
.3639
.3639
.3739
.0161
.0111
.2408
1911.
1.................
2................
3.................
4.................
Average.
.0361
.0361
.0111
.3664
1 H auled b y receiver's teams.
CLEVELAND.
JU N E ,
1904.
.
Average..........................
.1742
.0089
.0005
.1836
.0114
.1950
.0325
.2275
.0533
Print butter:
Lot No. 1............................
Lot No. 2...........................
L ot No. 3............................
L ot No. 4...........................
Lot No. 5............................
Lot No. 6...........................
.2614
.2661
.2614
.2661
.2614
.2614
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
. 0089
.0089
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.2708
.2755
.2708
.2755
.2708
.2708
.0142
.0145
.0142
.0145
.0142
.0142
. 2850
.2900
.2850
.2900
.2850
.2850
.0350
.0400
.0150
4.0300
.0250
.0350
.3200
.3300
.3000
.3200
.3100
.3200
.0586
.0639
.0386
.0539
.0486
.0586
Average..........................
.2630
.0089
.0005
.2724
.0143
.2867
.0300
.3167
.0537
D EC E M BER,
1904.
52
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
T able IV .—P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S FR O M C R E A M E R Y TO C ON SU M E R ON V A R IO U S
LO TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E I E C T E D C IT IE S,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Continued.
OLEVELAND—Continued.
Charges per
Price
pound for—
per
pound
f. o. b.
ship
ping Freight. Cartage.
station.
Gross
price
Price
Price
R e
R e
per
ceiver’s per
per
tailer’s
pound margin
pound margin pound
paid b y
to con
per
to re
per
whole
tailers. pound. sumers.
sale re pound.
ceiver.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
JUNE, 1910.
Print butter:
L ot No. 1............................ $0.2709 $0.0089 $0.0005 $0.2803 SO.0197 SO.3000 $0.0400 $0.3400
.0450
.0005
.0200
.3050
.3500
.2850
. 0089
L ot No. 2............................
.2756
.0500
.3500
.0005
.3000
Lot No. 3 1.........................
.2709
.0089
.2803
.0197
.0450
.3500
L ot No. 4 i . . . . ...................
.0005
.0200
.3050
.2850
.2756
.0089
.0300
.3300
.0005
.3000
L ot No. 5............................
.2709
.0089
.0197
.2803
.0250
.3300
.0005
.0200
L ot No. 6............................
.2756
.0089
.3050
.2850
.0005
.0400
.3400
L ot No. 7............................
.2709
.0089
.3000
.0197
.2803
.0005
.3500
.3000
.0500
L ot No. 8............................
.0089
.2709
.2803
.0197
.3500
.0005
.0450
.0089
.0200
.3050
L ot No. 9 .. ........................
.2756
.2850
.0089
.0005
.0200
.3050
.0450
.3500
L ot No. 10..........................
.2756
.2850
.0005
.0300
.3300
Lot No. 11..........................
.2709
.0089
.0197
.3000
.2803
.3500
.0005
L ot No. 12..........................
.3000
.0500
.2709
.0089
.0197
.2803
.3400
.0005
.2850
.0200
.3050
.0350
Lot No. 13..........................
.0089
.2756
.0005
Lot No. 14..........................
.2709
.0089
.0400
.3400
.3000
.2803
.0197
Lot No. 15..........................
.2756
.0089
.0005
.2850
.0200
.3050
.0450
.3500
Lot No. 16 2.......................
.2709
.0089
.0005
.0197
.3000
.0500
.3500
.2803
Lot No. 17 2........................ .2756
.0089
.0005
.2850
.0200
.3050
.0550
.3600
. 2756
.0089
.0005
.2850
.0200
.3050
.0450
.3500
L ot No. 18..........................
. 0005
.2809
.3100
.0300
.3400
Lot No 19..........................
.0089
.2903
.0197
Average..........................
SO.0691
.0744
.0791
.0744
.0591
.0544
.0691
.0791
.0744
.0744
.0591
.0791
.0644
.0691
.0744
.0791
.0844
.0744
.0591
.2737
.0089
.0005
.2831
.0198
.3029
.0418
.3447
.0710
Print butter:
Lot No. 1............................
Lot N o. 2............................
L ot No. 3............................
L ot No. 4............................
L ot No. 5............................
L ot N o. 6............................
L ot No. 7............................
L ot No. 8............................
L ot No. 9............................
Lot No. 10..........................
L ot No. 11..........................
L ot No. 12i........................
L ot No. 13i.................... .
L ot N o. 1 4 i.......................
L ot No. 1 5 i.......................
L ot N o. 16 i .......................
L ot No. 1 7 i.......................
L ot No. 18 2.......................
L ot No. 19 2.......................
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.2994
.3075
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0809
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.3088
.3169
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.0162
.0181
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.3250
.3350
.0350
.0350
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0350
.0350
.0550
.0550
.0650
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0550
.3600
.3700
.3700
.3800
.3700
.3800
.3700
.3800
.3700
.3700
.3700
.3800
.3900
.3900
.3900
.3800
.3900
.3800
.3900
.0606
.0625
.0706
.0725
.0706
.0725
.0706
.0725
.0706
.0625
.0625
.0806
.0825
.0906
.0825
.0806
.0825
.0806
.0825
Average..........................
.3037
.0089
.0005
.3131
.0172
.3303
.0476
.3779
.0742
.2376
.2234
.2281
.2376
.2376
.2234
.2281
.2376
.2234
.2281
.2376
.2376
.2234
.2281
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.2470
.2328
.2375
.2470
.2470
.2328
.2375
.2470
.2328
.2375
.2470
.2470
.2328
.2375
.0180
.0172
.0175
.0180
.0180
.0172
.0175
.0180
.0172
.0175
.0180
.0180
.0172
.0175
.2650
.2500
.2550
.2650
.2650
.2500
.2550
.2650
.2500
.2550
.2650
.2650
.2500
.2550
.0450
.0400
.0350
.0450
.0350
.0300
.0250
.0350
.0400
.0450
.0450
.0350
.0400
.0450
.3100
.2900
.2900
.3100
.3000
.2800
.2800
.3000
.2900
.3000
.3100
.3000
.2900
.3000
.0724
.0666
.0619
.0724
.0624
.0566
.0519
.0624
.0666
.0719
.0724
.0624
.0666
.0719
DECEMBER, 1910
JUNE, 1911.
Print butter:
L ot N o. 1............................
L ot No. 2............................
L ot N o. 3............................
L ot N o. 4............................
L ot N o. 5............................
L ot No. 6............................
L ot N o. 7............................
L ot N o. 8............................
Lot N o. 9............................
L ot N o. 10..........................
L ot N o. 11..........................
L ot N o. 12..........................
L ot N o. 13..........................
L ot N o. 14..........................
1 R etailer:inclosed wrapped Lprints i n carton;5 costing S3.50 peir 1,000.
2 R etailer;inclosed wrapped . prints i]a car tom >costing $3 per 1, 000.
53
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER
IV .—PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO C O N SU M E R ON V A R IO U S
LOTS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C ITIE S,
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Continued.
T able
CLEVELAND—Concluded.
Charges per
Gross
Price
pound for—
price
Price
per
R e
Price
R e
per
per
tailer’s
pound
ceiver’s per
pound margin
margin pound
f. 0 . b.
pound
paid
b
y
per
to
con
per
ship
to re
whole
ping Freight. Cartage. sale re pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
station.
ceiver.
june
,
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1911—concluded.
P rint butter—Concluded.
Lot No. 15.......................... $0.2376 SO. 0089 SO.0005 $0.2470 SO. 0180 SO. 2650 $0.0350 SO. 3000
.0250
.2900
.0005
Lot No. 16..........................
.2470
. 0180
.2376
.0089
.2650
.0400
.2900
.0172
Lot No. 17..........................
.0005
.2328
.2500
.2234
.0089
.2281
.0005
.0350
.2900
Lot JSTo. 18..........................
.2375
.0175
.0089
.2550
.0250
Lot No. 19..........................
.2376
.0005
.2900
.2470
.0180
.2650
.0089
.0350
Lot No. 20..........................
.0005
.3000
.2376
.2470
.0180
.2650
.0089
.2800
Lot No. 21..........................
.2234
.0005
.2328
.'0172
.0300
.2500
.0089
Lot No. 22..........................
.0350
.2281
.0005
.2900
.2375
.0175
.2550
.0089
.0350
Lot No. 23..........................
.2376
.3000
.0005
.2470
.0180
.2650
.0089
Lot No. 24i........................
.0600
.3100
.2234
.0005
.2328
.0172
.2500
.0089
Lot N o. 251........................ .2281
.0550
.3100
.0005
.2375
.0175
.2550
.0089
Lot No. 261........................
.2376
.0005
.0550
.3200
.2470
.0180
.2650
.0089
Lot No. 272........................ .2376
.0550
.0005
.3200
.2470
.0180
.2650
.0089
Lot No. 282........................ .2234
.2328
.3000
.0172
.0005
.0500
.2500
.0089
Lot No. 292........................
.2281
.0450
.3000
.0005
.2375
.0175
.2550
.0089
L ot No. 302........................
.2376
.3200
.0005
.0180
.2650
.0550
.0089
.2470
Lot No. 31..........................
.2234
.0005
.0172
.0200
.2700
.2328
.2500
.0089
Lot No. 32.......................... .2281
.0350
.2900
.0005
.2375
.0175
.0089
.2550
Lot No. 33..........................
.2376
.3000
.0005
.2470
.0180
.0350
.0089
.2650
Lot No. 34 3........................ .2234
.0172
.0500
.3000
.0005
.2328
.0089
.2500
Lot No. 353........................ .2281
.0450
.3000
.0005
.0175
.2550
.0089
.2375
Lot No. 36 3........................ .2376
.0450
.3100
.0005
.0180
.2650
.0089
.2470
Average..........................
SO. 0624
.0524
.0666
.0619
.0524
.0624
.0566
.0619
.0624
.0866
.0819
.0824
.0824
.0766
.0719
.0824
.0466
.0619
.0624
.0766
.0719
.0724
.2310
.0089
.0005
.2404
.0177
.2581
.0400
.2981
.0671
Print butter:
L ot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2............................
Lot No. 3...........................
Lot No. 4............................
Lot No. 5...........................
Lot No. 6............................
Lot No. 7...........................
Lot No. 8............................
Lot No. 9............................
Lot N o. 10..........................
Lot No. 11..........................
Lot No. 12..........................
Lot N o. 13..........................
Lot No. 14..........................
Lot N o. 15..........................
Lot No. 16..........................
Lot N o. 17..........................
Lot N o. 18..........................
Lot N o. 19..........................
Lot N o. 20..........................
Lot No. 2 1 1 .....................
Lot No. 221........................
Lot No. 23i........................
Lot N o. 241........................
Lot No. 25i........................
Lot No. 26i.......................
Lot No. 27i........................
Lot No. 28i........................
Lot N o. 291........................
Lot N o. 30i.......................
Lot N o. 31 3........................
Lot N o. 32 3........................
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3611
.3516
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.3516
.3611
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0089
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.0005
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3705
.3610
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.3610
.3705
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0245
.0240
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.0240
.0245
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3850
.2950
.3850
.3950
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3950
.3850
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.3850
.3950
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0350
.0450
.0550
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0350
.0350
.0250
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0350
.0450
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0450
.0650
.0650
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.0450
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4400
.4200
.4400
.4400
.4400
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4400
.4200
.4300
.4100
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4300
.4400
.4400
.4500
.4400
.4400
.4600
.4500
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4400
.0784
.0789
.0784
.0789
.0684
.0789
.0884
.0789
.0784
.0789
.0784
.0789
.0684
.0689
.0584
.0784
.0789
.0784
.0689
.0789
.0884
.0889
.0884
.0789
.0989
.0984
.0784
.0789
.0784
.0789
.0784
.0789
Average..........................
.3564
.0089
.0005
.3658
.0242
.3900
.0456
.4356
.0792
DECEM BER,
1911.
1Retailer inclosed wrapped prints in cartons costing $3.50 per 1,000.
2 Retailer Inclosed wrapped prints in cartons costing $2.75 per 1,000.
* Retailer inclosed wrapped prints in cartons costing $3 per 1,000.
54
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
IV .—PR ICE S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO C O N SU M E R ON V A R IO U S
LOTS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C ITIE S,
JU NE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1011—Continued.
Table
PITTSBURGH.
Charges per
Gross
Price
pound for—
price
Price
per
Re
R e
Price
per
per
per
tailer’ s
pound
pound ceiver’s
pound margin pound
f.o .b .
paid b y margin
per
to con
per
to re
ship
whole
ping Freight. Cartage. sale re pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
station.
ceiver.
JU N E ,
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1904.
Print butter:
Lot No. 1........................... $0.1850 $0.0087
. 1850
0087
. 1850
0087
Lot No. 3 ...........................
.1850
0087
.1850
.0087
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
$0.1937 $0.0113 $0.2050 $0.0450 $0.2500
.2700
.0113
.2050
.1937
.0650
.2600
.0113
.2050
.0550
.1937
.0113
.2500
.2050
.0450
. 1937
.2500
.0113
. 2050
.0450
. 1937
$0.0650
.0850
.0750
.0650
.0650
.1850
.0087
0)
. 1937
.0113
.2050
.0510
.2560
.0710
.2750
.2750
.2750
.2800
.2600
.2750
.2750
.2900
.2750
.2750
.2750
.2900
0087
0087
0087
0087
0087
0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
C1)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
1
0)
(i)
(i)
(1)
0)
.2837
.2837
.2837
.2887
.2687
.2837
.2837
.2987
.2837
.2837
.2837
.2987
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.2950
.2950
.2950
.3000
.2800
.2950
. 2950
.3100
.2950
.2950
.2950
.3100
.0350
.0350
.0350
.0500
.0500
.0550
.0550
.0500
.0350
.0350
.0350
.0400
.3300
.3300
.3300
.3500
.3300
. 3500
. 3500
.3600
.3300
.3300
.3300
.3500
.0550
.0550
.0550
.0700
.0700
.0750
.0750
. 0700
. 0550
.0550
.0550
.0600
.2767
.0087
(1)
.2854
.0113
.2967
.0425
.3392
.0625
Print butter:
Lot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
Lot No. 3...........................
Lot No. 4...........................
Lot No. 5...........................
Lot No. 6...........................
Lot No. 7...........................
Lot No. 8...........................
Lot No. 9...........................
Lot No. 10.........................
Lot No. 11..........................
Lot No. 12.........................
Lot No. 13.........................
.2900
.2800
.2800
. 2850
.2900
.2800
.2800
.2800
.2850
.2900
.2800
.2800
.2850
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
0)
.2989
.2887
.2887
.2937
.2987
.2887
.2887
.2887
.2937
.2987
.2887
.2887
.2937
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.3100
.3000
.3000
.3050
.3100
.3000
.3000
.3000
.3050
.3100
.3000
.3000
.3050
.0500
.0500
.0500
.0450
.0500
.0500
.0500
.0500
.0550
.0400
.0500
.0500
.0450
.3600
.3500
.3500
.3500
.3600
.3500
.3500
.3500
.3600
.3500
.3500
.3500
.3500
.0700
.0700
.0700
.0650
.0700
.0700
.0700
.0700
.0750
.0600
.0700
.0700
.0650
Average..........................
.2835
.0087
C1)
.2922
.0113
.3035
.0488
.3523
.0688
Print butter:
Lot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
Lot No. 3...........................
Lot N o. 4...........................
Lot No. 5...........................
Lot No. 6...........................
...........................
Lot No. 8...........................
Lot No. 9...........................
Lot No. 10.........................
Lot No. 11.........................
.........................
.3000
.3100
.3100
.3100
.3100
.3000
.3100
.3100
.3000
.3100
.3100
.3100
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
Lot No.
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
Lot No.
(1)
(1)
12
0)
.3087
.3187
.3187
.3187
.3187
.3087
.3187
.3187
.3087
.3187
.3187
.3187
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.3200
.3300
.3300
.3300
.3300
.3200
.3300
.3300
.3200
.3300
.3300
.3300
.0500
.0400
.0400
.0400
.0600
.0600
.0500
.0500
.0600
.0500
.0500
.0500
.3700
.3700
.3700
.3700
.3900
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.3800
.0700
.0600
.0600
.0600
.0800
.0800
.0700
.0700
.0800
.0700
.0700
.0700
Average..........................
.3075
.0087
(1)
1 .3162
.0113
.3275
.0500
.3775
.0700
Average..........................
D ECEM BER,
1904.
Print butter:
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
Lot
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
N o.
No.
No.
No.
2 ...........................
3...........................
4...........................
5...........................
6...........................
7...........................
8...........................
9 ...........................
10..........................
11..........................
12.........................
Average.......................
JU N E ,
1910.
D EC EM B ER,
0)
0)
0)
0)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
0)
C1)
1910.
0)
C1)
0)
(1)
7(1)
(1)
(1)
C1)
0)
1 Hauled b y teams hired b y the week for general hauling.
55
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
IV .—PR IC E S A N D M A R G IN S FR O M C R E A M E R Y TO CON SU M ER ON V A R IO U S
LO TS OF TU B A N D P R IN T B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D CITIES>
JUNE A N D D E C E M B E R , 1904, 1910, A N D 1911—Concluded.
T able
PITTSBURGH—Concluded.
Charges per
Gross
Price
pound for—
price
Price
Price
R e
R e
per
per
per
tailer’s
pound
pound ceiver’s per
pound margin pound
margin
f.o .b .
paid b y
to con
per
per
to re
ship
whole
ping Freight. Cartage. sale re pound. tailers. pound. sumers.
station.
ceiver.
JU N E,
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
1911.
Print butter:
Lot No. 1........................... $0.2250 SO. 0087
. 0087
.2300
Lot No. 2...........................
.0087
.2400
Lot No. 3...........................
.0087
.2400
Lot No. 4...........................
.0087
Lot No. 5 ........................... .2400
.2250
.0087
Lot No. 6...........................
.2400
.0087
Lot No. 7...........................
.2400
.0087
Lot No. 8............., ............
.2300
.0087
Lot No. 9...........................
.2400
.0087
Lot No. 10.........................
.2400
.0087
Lot No. 11.........................
.2400
.0087
Lot No. 12.........................
C1)
0)
C1)
0)
C1)
(l )
i 1)
i 1)
i 1)
0)
C1)
C1)
$0.2337 $0.0113 $0.2450 $0.0550 SO. 3000
.0500
.3000
.2387
.2500
.0113
. 2600
.3200
.2487
.0600
.0113
.2600
.0400
.3000
.2487
.0113
.2600
.3100
.2487
.0500
.0113
.3000
.2337
.2450
.0550
.0113
.3100
.2600
.2487
.0500
.0113
.2487
.0113
.2600
.0500
.3100
.3000
.2387
.2500
.0500
.0113
.2600
.2487
.0400
.3000
.0113
.2600
.2487
.0400
.3000
.0113
.2600
.2487
.0400
. 3000
.0113
SO. 0750
.0700
.0800
.0600
.0700
.0750
.0700
.0700
.0700
.0600
.0600
.0600
. 2358
.0087
C1)
.2445
.0113
.2558
.0483
.3041
.0683
Print butter:
Lot No. 1...........................
Lot No. 2...........................
Lot No. 3...........................
Lot N o. 4...........................
Lot No. 5...........................
Lot No. 6...........................
Lot No. 7...........................
Lot No. 8...........................
Lot No. 9...........................
Lot No. 10.........................
Lot No. 11.........................
Lot No. 12.........................
.3700
.3600
.3700
.3700
.3600
.3700
.3700
.3700
.3600
.3700
.3700
.3700
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
. 0087
.0087
.0087
.0087
C1)
0)
0)
C1)
0)
0)
(!)
C1)
0)
0)
0)
0)
.3787
.3687
.3787
.3787
.3687
.3787
.3787
.3787
.3687
.3787
.3787
.3787
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.0113
.3900
.3800
.3900
.3900
.3800
.3900
.3000
.3900
.3800
.3900
.3900
.3900
.0300
.0300
.0300
.0300
.0400
.0400
.0400
.0500
.0500
.0600
.0600
.0600
.4200
.4100
.4200
.4200
.4200
.4300
.4300
.4400
.4300
.4500
.4500
.4500
.0500
.0500
.0500
.0500
.0600
.0600
.0600
.0700
.0700
.0800
.0800
.0800
Average..........................
.3675
.0087
0)
.3762
. 0113
.3875
.0433
.4308
.0633
A verage..........................
D ECEM BER,
1911.
1 Hauled b y teams hired b y the week for general hauling.
To make the details of the table entirely clear an analysis is here
given of the figures presented for the first period, June, 1904, in Chi
cago, tracing the items back from the consumer to the creamery. A
retail dealer bought during the month four lots of tub butter from a
wholesaler or receiver, who had bought them from creamery No. 3.
The retailer paid the receiver 18.5 cents per pound for the butter and
sold it to consumers for 23 cents, thus making a margin of 4.5 cents.
The receiver had paid 16.86 cents gross per pound, thus making 1.64
cents margin. Deducting from the gross price (16.86 cents) paid by
the receiver 0.3 cent per pound for freight charges and 0.06 cent for
cartage, it is found that the creamery received 16.5 cents per pound
for the butter f. o. b. shipping station. The total margin between the
price paid the creamery f. o. b. shipping station and the price paid by
the consumer was 6.5 cents per pound. The average price received
by creamery No. 3 for total sales of butter packed in all the various
forms during the month was 17.26 cents per pound, as may be seen
56
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
by reference to Tables I, II, and III. Other creameries are repre
sented in the data presented for other cities, and in some of the
cities data were obtained from several dealers.
In Table V, which follows, the averages in the preceding table for
tub and print butter in the several cities are brought together and
simple averages of tub and print butter combined are made for the
various items in each of the periods. As before stated, the lots for
which data are shown represent in each instance transactions distrib
uted throughout the month, and the averages are believed to be fairly
representative of creamery prices and margins from creamery to con
sumer in the seasons of low and high prices in the years shown.
V .—A V E R A G E P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S FR O M C R E A M E R Y TO C O N SU M E R ON
B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A IL E R S IN S E L E C T E D C IT IE S , JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R ,
1904, 1910, A N D 1911.
T able
Charges per
Gross
Price
pound for—
price
Price
per
Receiv per
per
er’s
pound
pound
pound
f. o. b.
paid by margin
to
per
ship
whole
retail
ping Freight. Cartage. sale re pound.
ers.
station.
ceiver.
JUNE,
Retail Price
per
er’s
margin pound
to con
per
pound. sumers.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
$0.1650 $0.0030 $0.0006 $0.1686 $0.0164 $0.1850 $0.0450 $0.2300
.0004
.1950
.2433
.0059
.0137
.0483
.1750
.1813
.1814
.0550
.2500
.1700
.0114
.1950
.0136
0)
$0.0650
.0683
.0800
1904.
T ub butter:
Chicago................
Cincinnati...........
Philadelphia___
.1700
.0068
2. 0003
.1771
.0146
.1917
.0494
.2411
.0711
.1825
.1742
.1850
.0056
.0089
.0087
.0003
.0005
(l)
.1884
.1836
.1937
.0116
.0114
.0113
.2000
.1950
.2050
.0500
.0325
.0510
.2500
.2275
.2560
.0675
.0533
.0710
Average, print butter..
.1806
.0077
2.0003
.1886
.0114
.2000
.0445
.2445
.0639
Average tub and print
com bined....................
. 1753
.0073
3.0003
.1828
.0130
.1958
.0470
.2428
.0675
.2588
.2670
.2538
.0030
.0059
.0114
.0006
,0005
C1)
.2624
.2734
.2652
.0151
.0136
.0273
.2775
.2870
.2925
.0450
.0390
.0475
.3225
.3260
.3400
.0637
.0590
.0862
.2599
.0068
2.0004
.2670
.0187
.2857
.0438
.3295
.0696
.2792
.2630
.2767
.0056
.0089
.0087
.0003
.0005
0)
.2851
.2724
.2854
.0116
.0143
.0113
.2967
.2867
.2967
.0300
.0300
.0425
.3267
.3167
.3392
.0475
.0537
.0625
Average, print butter.
.2730
.0077
2.0003
.2810
.0124
.2934
.0341
.3275
.0545
Average, tub and print
.
com bin ed........
.2664
.0073
3.0003
.2740
.0155
.2895
.0390
.3285
.0621
.2688
.2730
.2756
.0030
.0059
.0114
.0006
.0005
0)
.2724
.2794
.2870
.0164
.0186
.0130
.2888
.2980
.3000
.0362
.0500
.0450
.3250
.3480
.3450
.0562
.0750
.0694
. 2725
.0068
2.0004
.2796
.0160
.2956 1 .0437
.3393
.0668
Average, tub butter..
Print butter:
Cincinnati..
Cleveland..
Pittsburgh.
DECEM BER,
1904.
T ub butter:
Chicago.......... ...........
Cincinnati.................
Philadelphia............
Average, tub butter. . .
Print butter:
Cincinnati..
Cleveland. .
Pittsburgh.
JUNE,
1910.
Tub butter:
Chicago................
Cincinnati...........
Philadelphia.......
Average, tub b u tter. . .
1 Hauled b y receiver’s teams.
a Not including cartage in one city , not separately reported.
* N ot including cartage in two cities, not separately reported.
57
BUTTER PRICES, PROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
V .—A V E R A G E P R IC E S A N D M A R G IN S F R O M C R E A M E R Y TO C O N SU M E R ON
B U T T E R H A N D L E D B Y R E T A I L E R S IN S E L E C T E D C IT IE S , JU N E A N D D E C E M B E R ,
1904, 1910, A N D 1911.—Concluded.
T able
ju n e
,
Charges per
Gross
Price
pound for—
price
Price Retail Price
per
Receiv per
per
er’s
pound
er’s
per
pound
pound
margin pound
f. o. b.
paid b y margin
to
per
per
to
con
ship
whole
retail pound. sumers.
ping Freight. Cartage. sale re pound.
ers.
station.
ceiver.
Total
margin
from
shipper
to con
sumer.
$0.2850 $0.0056 $0.0003 $0.2909 $0.0166 $0.3075 $0.0425 $0.3500
.0005
.0198
.3029
.0089
.2831
.0418
.2737
.3447
.2922
.0113
.3035
.0488
. 2835
.0087
.3523
C1)
$0.0650
.0710
.0688
1910—concluded.
P rint butter:
Cleveland...........................
Pittsburgh.........................
Average, print butter..
.2807
.0077
2. 0003
.2887
.0159
.3046
.0444
.3490
.0683
Average, tub and print
com bined....................
.2766
.0073
s. 0003
.2842
.0159
.3001
.0441
.3442
.0676
T ub butter:
Chicago...............................
Cincinnati..........................
Philadelphia.....................
.2900
.2980
.3006
.0030
.0059
.0114
.0006
.0005
O)
.2936
.3044
.3120
.0189
.0186
. 0155
.3125
.3230
.3275
.0475
.0570
.0450
.3600
.3800
.37i25
.0700
.0820
.0719
Average, tub b utter. . .
D ECEM BER,
1910.
.2962
.0068
2. 0004
.3033
.0177
.3210
.0498
.3708
.0746
Print butter:
Cinnirmati. ......... _ _ _
Cleveland...........................
Pittsburgh.........................
.3000
.3037
. 3075
.0056
.0089
.0087
.0003
.0005
0)
.3059
.3131
.3162
.0166
.0172
.0113
.3225
.3303
. 3275
.0575
.0476
.0500
.3800
. 3779
.3775
.0800
.0742
.0700
Average, print b u tter..
. 3037
.0077
2.0003
.3117
.0150
.3267
.0517
. 3784
.0747
Average, tub and print
com bined....................
.3000
.0073
3.0003
.3075
.0163
.3238
.0508
.3746
.0746
T ub butter:
Chicago............................... $0.2194 $0.0030 $0.0006 $0. 2230 $0.0158 $0.2388 $0.0362 $0.2750
Cincinnati.......................... .2242
.0059
.2306
.2492
.0005
.0186
.0525
.3017
.2294
.0114
.2408
.0142
Philadelphia.....................
.2550
.0550
.3100
C1)
$0.0556
.0775
.0806
JU N E,
1911.
Average, tub butter. . .
.2243
.0068
2. 0004
.2315
.0162
.2477
.0479
. 2956
.0713
Print butter:
Cincinnati..........................
Cleveland...........................
Pittsburgh.........................
.2425
.2310
.2358
.0056
.0089
.0087
.0003
.0005
0)
.2484
.2404
.2445
.0166
.0177
.0113
.2650
.2581
.2558
.0350
.0400
.0483
.3000
.2981
.3041
.0575
.0671
.0683
Average, print butter..
.2364
.0077
2.0003
.2444
.0152
. 2596
.0411
.3007
.0643
Average, tub and print
com bined....................
.2304
.0073
3.0003
.2380
.0157
.2537
.0445
.2982
.0678
Tub butter:
Chicago...............................
Cincinnati..........................
Philadelphia.....................
.3500
.3550
.3550
.0030
.0059
.0114
.0006
.0005
C1)
.3536
.3614
.3664
.0164
.0186
.0255
.3700
.3800
.3919
.0400
.0583
.0531
.4100
.4383
.4450
.0600
.0833
.0900
D ECEM BER,
1911.
Average, tub b u tte r .. .
. 3533
.0068
2.0004
.3605
.0201
.3806
.0505
.4311
.0778
Print butter:
Cincinnati..........................
Cleveland...........................
Pittsburgh.........................
.3675
.3564
.3675
.0056
.0089
.0087
.0003
.0005
0)
.3734
.3658
.3762
.0166
.0242
.0113
.3900
.3900
.3875
.0550
.0456
.0433
.4450
.4356
.4308
.0775
.0792
.0633
Average, print butter..
.3638
.0077
2.0003
.3718
.0174
.3892
.0479
.4371
.0733
Average, tub and print
com bined....................
.3586
.0073
3.0003
. 3662
.0187
.3849
.0492
.4341
.0755
1 Hauled b y receiver's teams.
2 Not including cartage in one city, not separately reported.
s Not including cartage in two cities, not separately reported.
58
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS.
WHOLESALE PRICES OF CREAMERY BUTTER, 1901 TO 1912,
AND RETAIL PRICES, 1907 TO 1912.
In connection with the data as to butter prices in selected cream
eries presented in the preceding pages, two tables are here given, the
first (Table VI) showing by months for each year from 1901 to 1912,
inclusive, the average wholesale prices of creamery butter at the
Elgin market and the second (Table VII) showing retail prices of
creamery butter in certain Chicago establishments every second
month from 1907 to 1910, and every month for 1911 and 1912. The
figures in these tables are compiled from bulletins published by the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
T able
V I.—A V E R A G E M O N T H L Y A N D Y E A R L Y W H O L E S A L E P R IC E S OF C R E A M E R Y
B U T T E R A T TH E E L G IN M A R K E T , 1901 TO 1912.
[Figures compiled from reports on wholesale prices, Bulletins 39, 45, 51, 57, 63,69, 75, 81, 87, 93, 99, and
114, of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.]
Month.
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1908
1907
1909
1910
1911
1912
J an uary............ SO.2200 SO.2425 $0.2725 SO.2300 $0.2900 $0.2700 $0.3063 $0.3050 SO. 3125 $0.3380 $0.2720 $0.3700
.2188 .2738 •2o / 5 .2510 .3250 .2775 .3275 .3263 .2975 .2950 .2613 .2975
F eb ru a ry.........
M a rch ...............
.2188 .2680 .2810 .2450 .2750 .2700 .3075 .2950 .2940 .3150 .2525 .2950
.2030 .2725 .2588 .2375 .2913 .2200 .3000 .2863 .2750 .3075 .2125 .3100
A p r il.................
.1850 .2200 .2075 .1970 .2270 .1975 .2375 .2375 .2520 .2780 .2170 .2800
M a y ...................
.1875 .2150 .2110 .1750 .2000 .1988 .2313 .2300 .2575 .2713 . 2238 .2513
J u n e ..................
.1940 .2075 .1963 .1713 .2000 .2030 .2450 .2200 .2600 .2763 .2440 .2510
J u ly ...................
A u g u st.............
.2050 .1960 .1905 .1790 .2088 .2250 .2490 .2240 .2710 .2920 .2600 .2500
Septem ber........
.2060 .2175 .2063 .1938 .2088 .2438 .2813 .2388 .3000 .2975 .2613 .2780
O c to b e r............
.2188 .2375 .2088 .2110 .2180 .2570 .2888 .2750 .3025 .2940 .2920 .2900
N ov em b er.......
.2350 .2575 .2300 .2500 .2350 .2750 .2625 .2940 .3120 .3075 .3300 .3263
.2450 .2880 .2450 .2690 .2450 .3110 .2830 .3075 .3450 .2975 .3550 .3450
December.........
Average .
.2114
.2413
.2302
.2178
.2429
.2459
.2761
.2692
.2893
.2977
.2644
.2968
V II.—R E T A I L P R IC E S OF C R E A M E R Y B U T T E R IN CH ICAGO E V E R Y SECOND
M O N TH , 1907 TO 1910, A N D E V E R Y M O N TH D U R IN G 1911 A N D 1912, B Y FIR M S.
T able
[Figures from Bulletins 105, 106, 108, 110, and 113 of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.]
Butter, creamery, per pound.
1907.
1908.
January...........................................
M arch.........................................
M ay..................................................
J u ly..................................................
Septem ber......................................
N ovem ber.......................................
Tub.
Firm
No. 704.
Print.
Firm
No. 711.
SO. 36
.36
.30
.30
.30
.33
$0.30
.29
.27
.26
.30
.28
.35
.35
.30
.29
.30
.31
.37
.35
.33
.29
.35
.35
Tub.
Firm
No. 718.
Print.
Firm
No. 720.
Print.
Firm
No. 721.
SO. 29
.32
.29
.27
.25
.28
$0.37
.37
.31
.30
.33
.33
$0.36
.37
.31*
.30
$0.32
.33
.28
.27
.28
.32
.35
.32
.29
.30
.33
.34
.31
.30
.29
.25
.28
.31
.36
.36
.30
.29
.29
.35
.37
.3 0 !
.28
.30
.35*
.34
.33
.30
.26
.27
.31
.30
.29
.28
.29
.30
.30
.34
.33
.29
.26
.27
.28
.36
.36
.32
.32
.35
.37
.36J
.35*
.32
.31
.35
.37
.32
.30
.29
.26
.28
.30
IC
O
O
>
C
OC
C
O
January...........................................
M arch..............................................
M ay..................................................
July..................................................
Septem ber......................................
N ovem ber......................................
Print.
Firm
No. 703.
1
cc>
Year and month.
Tub.
Firm
No. 723.
1909.
January...........................................
M arch..............................................
M ay..................................................
July..................................................
September......................................
N ovem ber......................................
59
BUTTER PRICES, FROM PRODUCER TO CONSUMER.
V I I —R E T A I L P R IC E S OF C R E A M E R Y B U T T E R IN C H ICAGO E V E R Y SECON D
M O N TH , 1907 TO 1910, A N D E V E R Y M O N T H D U R IN G 1911 A N D 1912, B Y F IR M S —Concluded.
T able
Butter, creamery, per pound.
Year and month.
Print.
Firm
No. 793.
Tub.
Firm
No. 704.
Print.
Firm
No. 711.
$0.36
.37
.33
.34
.37
.37
$0.40
.35
.35
.35
.35
.37
$0.35
.36
.35
.35
.37
.38
.33
.32
.32
.27
.28
.28
.31
.33
.33
.35
.38
.41
.37
.37
.39
•.37
.37
.37
.37
.30
.32
.38
.40
.41
.42
.39
.36
.38
.36
.32
.32
.32
.34
.36
.39
.41
.43
.39
.35
.37
.35
.33
.33
.33
.33
.35
.37
.40
T ub.
Firm
No. 718.
Tub.
Firm
No. 723.
Print.
Firm
N o. 720.
Print.
Firm
No. 721.
$0.30
.33
.33
.27
.27
.29
$0.41
.36
.33
.33
.36
.37
$0.39
.37J
. 33J
.34
.37
.37
$0.33
.31
.30
.27
.28
.31
.35
.30
.30
.30
.30
.30
.30
.33
.33
.35
.35
.35
.32
.33
.35
.36
.34
.30
.29
.28
.29
.31
.32
.34
.36
.31
.31
.30
.27
.28
.29
.31
.32
.35
.38
.42
.34
.33
.32
.28|
.28
.29
.31
.33
.33
.35
.39£
.42
.36
.36
.34
.32
.32
.29
.29
.29
.30
.32
.34
.35
.43
.38
.36
.37
.32
.32
.32
.39
.36
.36
.38
.34
.31
.28
.29
.32
.33
.36
.36i
.42
.38
.35
.35
.34
.32
.32
.32
.33
.47
.39
.36
.38
.37
.32
.32
.32
.35
.37
.39
.43
.41
.37
.34
.37
.33
.31
.31
.31
.31
.34
.37
.39
1910.
January...........................................
March..............................................
J uly.................................................
September......................................
N ovem ber......................................
1911.
January...........................................
February........................................
March..............................................
A p ril................................................
June.................................................
J u ly.................................................
A ugust............................................
September......................................
October...........................................
N ovem ber.....................................v
Decem ber.......................................
1912.
January.......................................
February........................................
March..............................................
A p ril................................................
M ay.................................................
June.................................................
July.................................................
A ugust............................................
September......................................
October...........................................
N ovem ber......................................
Decem ber.......................................
0)
0)
.33
.38
.40
1 No quotation.
0)
.35
@FedFRASER