Costs of Storing and Handling Grain in Commercial Elevators, 1964-65

Excerpts from the report: This report covers the cost of handling and storing grain at commercial elevators in the United States during fiscal 1964-65. The results were based on accounting records of 252 elevators selected to represent the principal storage areas, types, and kinds of construction. The sample included 165 country elevators, 58 inland terminal elevators, and 29 port facilities. The total cost of reporting firms was allocated to receiving, shipping, and storage functions by areas, types of facilities, and alternative transportation methods. Four types of costs are shown: (1) Out-of-pocket costs, which contain no allowance for interest on investment or depreciation; (2) total cost, which includes the firm's own figures for depreciation and interest on investment; (3) short-term competitive rates reflecting the out-of-pocket cost of the marginal firms; and (4) long-term competitive rates based on total costs including depreciation and interest on replacement values. Data relating to storage requirements and availability, cost data reflecting standardized depreciation and interest, and detailed composition of cost data developed from records of reporting firms also are presented. Detailed information on sampling, methods of cost allocation, replacement value estimates, secondary data sources, and definitions are given in the appendix.