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    Reference
        Page 19

niel S. Tilley


Estimated
o '


Economic Information
Report 54


Costs of: POackinga and

Si : iUS,


.M


i i:'-eason:. .-





'Y'
~~,. .-


& and Resource Economics Department
cultural Experiment Stations
*uie of Food and Agricultural Sciences
rsity of Florida, Gainesville 32611


June 1976
















ABSTRACT


Packing costs for two 4/5-bushel cartons of Florida oranges
and grapefruit are estimated at $2.18 and $2.21, respectively, for
the 1974-75 season. ,The estimates are 4.3 and 7.3 percent above
1973-74 season estimates. Tangerine packing costs for two 4/5-
-bushel cartons are estimated at $2.55, up 5.8 percent from previous
season estimates.

Packing costs have increased steadily over the past 15 seasons
with the greatest increases shown in direct and indirect operating
expenses.

The 1974-75 estimates are based on accounting information
obtained from 39 Florida packinghouses.

Key words: fresh citrus packing costs, packinghouse cost
trends, fresh fruit, container costs, labor costs.













TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

LIST OF TABLES .... . . . . . i

SUYMMARY . .. . .. . ...... 1

SAMPLE FIRMS . . . . .. . . .1

DATA COLLECTION .... . .. . ... .... .. 3

WEIGHTED AVERAGE PACKING AND BULK HANDLING COSTS . . 6

COST TRENDS. . . .. .... . 14

SELECTED REFERENCES . . . ... ..... .19



LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Distribution of citrus handled by class of fruit, 40
Florida packinghouses . .... . ... .. 2

2 Distribution of the sample packinghouses by total volume
packed compared with the industry distribution of firms
in Florida by total volume packed, 1974-75 season . 4

3 Volume of citrus handled and total packing and selling
cost by type of container, 40 Florida packinghouses,
1974-75 season . . . . . 5

4 Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida
oranges per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container,
1974-75 season . . . . ... .. 7

5 Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida
grapefruit per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of con-
tainer, 1974-75 season . . . . 9

6 Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida
tangerines per j 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of con-
tainer, 1974-75 season . . . . .. 11




LIST OF TABLES, continued

Table Page

7 Weighted average costs of.handling bulk Florida citrus,
1974-75 season . . . . . 12

8 Weighted average costs of handling Florida citrus elim-
inations, 1974-75 season. .... . . .13

9 Percentage change in the items that make up the total
cost of packing 1 3/5-bushel Florida oranges and grapefruit
in two 4/5-bushel cartons, 1974-75 over 1973-74 . 15

10 Total cost per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent for packing and
selling Florida citrus by type of pack, 1959-60 through
1974-75 seasons . . . . .. 16

11 Value of packed 4/5-bu. cartons of Florida oranges and
grapefruit relative to packing costs, years, 1967-68
through 1974-75 seasons, 1 3/5-bushel equivalent
boxes . . . . . . 17














ESTIMATED COSTS OF PACKING AND SELLING
FRESH FLORIDA CITRUS, 1974-75 SEASON


Daniel S..Tilley


SUiMMARY


Packing costs for two 4/5-bushel cartons of Florida oranges and
grapefruit are estimated at $2.18 and $2.21, respectively, for the
.1974-75 season. The estimates are 4.3 and 7.3 percent above 1973-74
season estimates. Tangerine packing costs for two 4/5-bushel cartons
are estimated .at $2.55, up 5.8 percent from previous season estimates.
Packing costs have increased steadily over the past 15 seasons
with the greatest increases shown in direct and indirect operating
expenses.
The 1974-75 estimates are based on accounting information obtained
from 39 Florida packinghouses.


SAMPLE FIRMS


The 39 sample Florida packinghouses packed 20,031,727 equivalent
1 3/5-bushel boxes or approximately 56 percent of total Florida fresh
fruit shipments [2]. The average volume per firm for all 159 Florida
packinghouses operating during the 1974-75 season was 451,669 equivalent
1 3/5-bushel boxes [2], while the average sample firm packed 513,634
equivalent 1 3/5-bushel boxes. As indicated in Table 1, the sample
firms provided information on a total of nearly 53 million boxes (in-
cluding eliminations and direct-to-cannery fruit) or 22 percent of
total Florida citrus production [2, p. 6].



DANIEL S. TILLEY is assistant professor of food and resource
economy cs.









Table 1.--Distribuition of citrus handled by class of fruit,
40 Florida packinghouses, 1974-75 season


Class of fruit


Total
volume


1 3/5-bushel
equivalent


15 East Coast packinghouses
Packed fruit b
Cannery fruit through house
Total through house
Direct, grove- to-cannery
Total

24 Interior packinghouses
Packed fruit
Cannery fruit through house
Total through house
Direct, grove-to-cannery
Total

39 packinghouses
Packed fruit
Cannery fruit through house
Total through house
Direct, grove-to-cannery
Total


6,166,874
2,420,361
8,587,235
1 548,454
10,135,689


13,864,853
9,875,375
S23,740,228
18,790,325
42,530,553


20,031,727
12,295,736
32,327,463
20,338,779
52,666,242


aGrove-to-cannery fruit data were not obtained from ten
houses; had these been included, it would have increased the
volume going directly to cannery. One firm did not supply
information on eliminated fruit.

b
Cannery fruit through the house is fruit with accept-
able internal quality but does not meet fresh market size or
external appearance standards. Cannery fruit through the
house is often called eliminated fruit or eliminations.


--~r=-~_~--- -- =-~i










The distribution of firms by size category shown in Table 2 indi-
cates that the proportion of existing larger firms represented in the
sample is greater than the proportion of smaller firms in the sample.
The number and type of firms in the sample are restricted by availability
of accurate data and firms' willingness to provide information.


DATA COLLECTION


Most of the firms provided information from their auditors' per-box
cost analysis reports. The average costs of packing the more important
containers reported by the sample firms are shown in Table 3.
For those firms that did not allocate costs to different types of
fruit or packages, per-box cost distributions are based on information
provided by houses that keep more detailed records. Quite often auditors'
reports did not show labor costs for labor categories and it was neces-
sary to distribute total per-box labor costs into the categories shown
in the following tables. Again the labor cost distributions were based
on information available from packinghouses showing costs for each
labor category.
In general, the firms tended to use similar methods for allocating
materials, general and administrative, and selling expenses, but labor
and other direct operating expenses were allocated by various methods.
Two different auditing philosophies were reflected by the labor
and direct operating cost allocations shown in the auditors' reports.
One philosophy is based on the premise that all labor and other direct
operating costs should be allocated to the packed fruit. The other
philosophy is based on the premise that at least some of the direct
operating costs (unloading, grading, etc.) should be borne by the
eliminations.
Of the 39 firms in the sample, 19 firms supplied information con-
sistent with the first philosophy, 19 firms supplied information con-
sistent with the second philosophy and one firm did not report elimination



1Eliminations are fruit intended for fresh use but not packed be-
cause of exterior appearance or size. Most eliminations are sent to
processing plants.








Table 2.--Distribution of the sample packinghouses by total volume
packed compared with the industry distribution of firms in
Florida by total volume packed, 1974-75 season


Total volume
1 3/5 bushel
equivaleuft


Number of
packinghouses
.in Floridaa


Number of
packinghouses
included in
the sample


Percentage of
packing houses
in the industry
included in
the sample


Less than 25,000

25,001 50,000

50,001 100,000

100,001 200,000

200,001 300,000

300,001 400,000

400,001 500,000

500,001 600,000

Greater than 600,000

Total


aCalculated from [2].


48

10

14

20

21

15

9

11

11

159


0

0

7.1

25.0

33.3

20.0

77.8

54.5

90.9

24.5


- -------LI--------~ 1------~-~1~--~---cl










Table 3.--Volume of citrus handled and total packing and selling cost


by type of container, 40
season


Florida packinghouses, 1974-75


Total weLghted

Commodity and Sample Total average packing
type of container firms volume -and selling
cost per box


Oranges
4/5-bu. fiberboard carton
5-lb. vexar bag in master carton
5-lb. poly. bag in master carton
4/5-bu. fiberboard carton-export
4/5-bu. Bruce box
4/5-bu. Bruce box-flat
8-lb. poly. bag in master carton
Bulk in truck sales
8-lb. vexar bag in master carton
Miscellaneous containers
Total packed oranges
Grapefruit
4 /5-bu. fiberboard carton
.5-lbW. poly. bag in master carton
4/5-bu. fiberboard carton-export
5-lb. vexar bag in master carton
Field box
8-lb. poly. bag in master carton
Miscellaneous containers
Total packed grapefruit


Tangerines
4/5-bu. fiberboard carton
4/5-bu. Bruce box
4/5-bu. Bruce box-flat
Miscellaneous containers
Total packed tangerines


36-
22
25
11
7
3
18
11
19
4
37


39
25
12
22
6
16'
-5
39


22
.6
3
28
29 ..


Miscellaneous varieties
Miscellaneous containers
Total packed fruit
Bulk fruit through house to cannery
Oranges
Grapefruit
Tangerines
Miscellaneous varieties
Total bulk through house


4,879,890
1,144,220
---992,940
728,038
i68,734' "
135,703
126,950
91,006
54,515
345,937
8,667,933

-13
6,798,137
963,905
''i 872,807 ."
484,988
106,488
'62,614
:. 322,920
9,611,859


$2.18
S3.01
2.79
2.56
2.69
2.76
2.73
1.20
3.00
2.30
'$2.42


$2.21
2.72
2.21
3.01
1.04
2.61
2.24
$2.29


934,639 $2.55
.... 241,883- .. 2. 89
143,583 3.50
282,040 2.76
1,602,1&5 $2.72


S149,790. $2.83
) 20,031,727 $2.38


S6,818,731
4,,488,621
910,104
78,280
12,295,736


$0.27
.18
.42
.10
$0.17










handling costs. No correction or adjustment of either auditing system
was made so that the averages shown in the following tables reflect
both auditing philosophies. The procedures used in calculating the
averages shown in this report are the same as those used in previous
reports in this series.
In all tables, administrative expense includes management and
office salaries, office expense, auto and travel, interest paid, tele-
phone and telegraph. Selling includes sales salaries, travel, telephone
and-telegraph, and brokerage. Other items include Florida citrus ad-
vertising tax, federal-state inspection, precooling, coloring and waxing,
and various industry assessments.


WEIGHTED AVERAGE PACKING AND BULK HANDLING-COSTS


The weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida citrus
in various types of containers are presented in Tables 4, 5 and 6. De-
tailed costs are shown for only the more important containers listed in
Table 3. Costs for the 4/5-bushel fiberboard carton for Interior and
East Coast houses are shown separately.
The costs shown are the weighted average costs for the sample
packinghouses, i.e., the total monetary costs of each item for all
houses were divided by the total number of boxes packed. The use of
weighted averages tends to result in a lower estimated cost than would
the simple average because larger houses which usually have lower costs
influence the average more than smaller houses.
Not all of the houses pack every container listed in Table 3. The
cost estimates presented in Tables 4, 5 and 6 are weighted averages for
the firms packing that container. Because the sample houses and weights
(volumes) change with each container, some of the cost differences among
containers can be attributed to the composition of firms packing each
container. The costs of handling and selling bulk fruit are shown in
Table 7.
The weighted average costs allocated to eliminations are shown in
Table 8. Note that both the range and standard deviation reported at
the bottom of Table 8 are quite large relative to the weighted average.









Table 4.--Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida oranges
per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container, 1974-75
season


4/5-bu. 4/5-bu. fiberboard box
Type of container Bruce I rr A
East Interior All
box
Coast houses houses

Number of packinghouses 7 12 24 36

Average volume packed
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 24,104 47,094 179,781 135,552

Item of cost $ per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent -
Materials
Containers 1.1802 0.6778 0.6456 0.6493.
Other materials .0466 .0259 .0254 .0254
Total materials 1.2268 0.7037 0.6710 0.6747
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0562 0.0710 0.0447 0.0477
Cratemaking & labeling .0863 .0783 .0711 .0719
Foremen, graders, others .1707 .2044 .1691 .1733
Packing .1544 .2013 .1576 .1627
Truck, check, load .1322 .1189 .1084 .1096
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0860 .1146 .0751 .0797
Total labor 0.6858 0.7885 0.6260 0.6449
Other direct operating
Power, lights, water 0.0239 0.0493 0.0315 0.0336
Repairs & maintenance .1011 .1176 .1028 .1045
Misc. supplies & expense .0428 .0727 .0411 .0448
Total other direct 0.1678 0.2396 0.1754 0.1829
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0069 0.0274 0.0108 0.0127
Taxes & licenses .0088 .0199 .0145 .0152
Depreciation .0719 .1465 .0830 .0903
Rent .0111 .0040 .0089 .0083
Total indirect operating 0.0987 0.1978 0.1172 0.1265
Total packing. expense 2.1791 1.9296 1.5896 1.6290
Administrative .0853 .1393 .1110 .1143
Selling .1613 .1991 .1594 .1640
Other items .2616 .2908 .2665 .2693
Total costs 2.6873 2.5588 2.1265 2.1766

Range in total costs--low 2.0252 2.2762 1.7608 1.7608
--high 3.0022 3.1309 3.0597 3.1309
Standard deviationa 0.2088 0.2028 0.2695 0.2968

Continued







8








Table 4.---eighted average costs of packing an'd selling Florida oranges
per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container, 1974-75
se ason--Continued


5-1b. 8-1it. 5-1b. 8-lb.
roly. poly.' vexar vexar
Type of container bag in bag in bag in bag in
master m. asnner master master
carton arton carton carton

Number of packinghouaes 25 1I 22 19

Average volume packed
(1 3/5--bush-l equivalent) 39,717 7,352 52,009 2,869

Item of cost $ per 1 3/5-bushel epqivalent -
Materials
Containers 1.1303 1.2148 1.3987 1.3416
Other materials .0256 .0161 .0253 .0246
Total materials 1.1559 1.2309 1.4240 1.3662
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0467 0.0442. 0.0471 0.0454
Cratemaking & labeling .0745 .0754 .0716 .0731
Foremen, graders, others ,2112 .2046 .2065 .2032
Packing .2602 .2284 .2562 .2445
Truck, check, load .1005 .0958 .0996 .0958
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0954 .0861 .910 .0911
Total..labor 0.7885 0-7345 0.7720 0.7531
Other directL op-erating
Power, lights, water 0.0362 0.0343 0.0342 0.0325
Repairs & maintenance .1022 .0935 .1007 .1239
Hisc. supplies & expense .0478 .0i42 .0443 .0542
Total other direct 0. 18i2 0.1720 0.1792. 0.2106
Indictct 2p raing
Ins.urancc-fii & casualty 0.0107 0.0095 0.0101 0.0127
Taxes & licenses .0131 .0115 '.0133 .0129
Depreciation .0824 .0689 .0824 .0847
Rent .0123 .0052 .0080 .0039
Total indirect operating 0.1190 0.0951 0.1133 0.1142
Total ackin. expense 2.2496 2.2325 2.4890 2.4441
Admini.st, rative .1281 1116 .1122 .1337
Sellin .1573 .1.369 .1532 .1609
Other items .2515 .2445 .2543 .2622
Total costs 2.7865 2.7255 3.0087 3.0009

Range in total costs--low 2.3398 2.3508 2.5968 2.5362
--high 4.3S31 3.,177 4.6631 4.1372
Standard deviation 0.3176 0.2577 0.3565 0.3544


aA range of one standard deviation above and below the mean
usually includes about two--thirds of the observations.









Table 5.--Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida grape-
fruit per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container,
1974-75 season


4/5-bushel fiberboard box

Type of container Export
East Interior All
All
Coast houses houses
houses

Number of packinghouses 15 24 39 12

Average volume packed
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 287,625 103,489 174,311 72,734

Item of cost $ per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent -
Materials
Containers 0.6757 0.6321 0.6597 0.7772
Other materials .0393 .0155 .0306 .0542
Total materials 0.7150 0.6476 0.6903 0.8314
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0699 0.0396 0.0588 0.0482
Cratemaking & labeling .0841 .0715 .0795 .0516
Foremen, graders, others .1426 .1310 .1384 .1034
Packing .1752 .1311 .1590 .1278
Truck, check, load .1181 .0987 .1111 .1155
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0992 .0682 .0879 .0668
Total labor 0.6891 0.5401 0.6347 0.5133
Other direct operating
Power, lights, water 0.0344 0.0268 0.0316 0.0198
Repairs & maintenance .1113 .0708 .0965 .0823
Misc. supplies & expense .0749 .0542 .0673 .0785
Total other direct 0.2206 0.1518 0.1954 0.1806
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0273 0.0065 0.0197 0.0150
Taxes & licenses .0195 .0093 .0158 .0128
Depreciation .1089 .0645 .0927 .0775
Rent .0059 .0073 .0064 .0002
Total indirect operating 0.1616 0.0876 0.1346 0.1055
Total packing expense 1.7863 1.4271 1.6550. 1.6308
Administrative .1523 .1526 .1524 .2079
Selling .1973 .1514 .1806 .1867
Other items .2276 .2040 .2190 .1878
Total costs 2.3635 1.9351 2.2070 2.2132

Range in total costs--low 2.0326 1.6080 1.6080 1.8496
--high 3.1911 2.5149 3.1911 2.6496
Standard deviation 0.2776 0.2339 0.3338. 0.1305


r.nnO t-i ni I d









Table 5.--Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida grape-
fruit per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container,
1974-75 season--Continued


5-lb .... 8--lb. 5-lb. 8-lb.
poly. poly. vexar vexar
Type of container bag in bag in bag in bag in
.... master master master master
carton carton carton carton

Number of packinghouses 25 16 22 11

Average volume packed
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 28,556 3,913 22,044 2,289

Item of cost $ e 1 3/5-bushel equivalent -
Materials
Containers 1.1453 1.1789 1.4517 1.4342
Other materials .0188 .0220 .0149 .0260
Total materials 1.1641 1.2009 1.4666 1.4602
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0467 0.0422 0.0491 0.0462
Cratemaking & labeling .0770 ..0762 .0790 .0823
Foremen, graders, others .1869 .1833 .1992 .2211
Packing .2416 .2330 .2526 .2436
Truck, check, load .1037 .1.036 .1071 .1142
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0931 .0844 .0962 .1073
Total labor 0.7490 0.7227 0.7832 0.8147.
Other direct operating
Power, lights, water 0.0361 0.0261 0.0354 0.0375
Repairs & maintenance .0922 .0753 .0912 .1708
Misc. supplies & expense .0585 .0517 .0551 .0818
Total other direct 0.1868 0.1531 0.1817 0.2901
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0090 0.0070 0.0076 0.0175
Taxes & licenses .0120 .01H1 .0110 .0148
Depreciation .0889 .0688 .0714 ,1082
Rent .0073 .0022 .0048 .0000
Total indirect operating 0.1172 0.0891 0.0948 0.1405
Total Dacking expense 2.2171 2.1658 2.5263 2.7055
Administrative .1648 .0895 .1557 .1498
Selling .1433 .1508 .1299 .1692
Other items .1989 .2078 .2016 .2548
Total costs 2.7241 2.6139 3.0135 3.2793

Range in total costs--low 2.1260 2.1468 2.4085 2.2602
--high 3.8050 3.7124 3.9617 3.5036
Standard deviation 0.3215 0.3187 0.3391 0.3873







Table 6.--Weighted average costs of packing and selling Florida tanger-
ines per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent by type of container,
1974-75 season

Tangerines
Type of container
4/5-bu. carton

Number of packinghouses 22

Average volume packed
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 42,483

Item of cost $ pe_ I 3/5-bushel equivalent
Materials
Containers 0.7050
Other materials .0249
Total materials 0.7299
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0707
Cratemaking & labeling .0834
Foremen, graders, others .3122
Packing .2095
Truck, check, load .1191
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .1166
Total labor 0.9115
Other direct operation
Power, lights, water 0.0551
Repairs & maintenance 1373
Misc. supplies & expense .0707
Total other direct 0.2631
Indirect opratin,
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0197
Taxes & licenses .0211
Dep reciation .1148
Rent .0087
Total indirect operating 0.1643
Total packing expense 2,0638
Adminiisra tive .0943
SeJlling .1686
Other items .2170
Total costs 2.5487

Range in total costs-.-low 2.0649
-.high 3.3900
Standard deviation 0.3345




IL


Table 7.--Weighted average costs of handling bulk Florida citrus,
1974-75 season


Bulk in truck sales
Type of container
Oranges Grapefruit

Number of packinghouses 11 11

Average volume packed
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 8,273 1,998

Item of cost $ per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent
Materials
Containers 0.0000 0.0000
Other materials .0013 .0002
Total materials 0.0013 0.0002
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0366 0.0309
Cratemaking & labeling .0184 .0041
Foremen, graders, others .1576 .0961
Packing .0705 .0561
Truck, check, load .0638 .0624
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0636 .0361
Total labor 0.4105 0.2857
Other direct operating
Power, lights, water 0.0203 0.0137-
Repairs & maintenance .1065 .0483
Misc. supplies & expense .0251 .0328
Total other direct 0.1519 0.0948
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0234 0.0147
Taxes & licenses .0087 .0053
Depreciation .0784 .0408
Rent .0010 .0044
Total indirect operating 0.1115 0.0652
Total asking expense 0.6752 0.4459
Administrative .0817 .1113
Selling .1706 ..1447
Other items .2693 .1856
Total costs 1.1968- 0.8875

Range in total costs--low 0.3127 0.4068
--high 1.2841 1.4428
Standard deviation 0.1328 0.2324








Table 8.--Weighted average costs
tions, 1974-75 season


of handling Florida citrus elimina-


Bulk through house to cannery


Type of container


Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines


Number of packinghouses 36 38' 29

Average volume packed.
(1 3/5-bushel equivalent) 189,409 118,121 31,382


Item of cost
Materials
Containers
Other materials
Total materials


Labor
Receive, truck, dump.
Cratemaking & labeling
Foremen, graders, others
Packing
Truck, check, load
Payroll taxes, comp. ins.
Total labor
Other direct operating
Power, lights, water
Repairs & maintenance
Misc. supplies & expense
Total other direct
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty
Taxes & licenses
Depreciation
Rent
Total indirect operating
Total _packin expense
Administrative
Selling
Other items
Total costs


$ per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent.;,


0.0000 0.0000


.0008
0.0008

0.0262
.0000
.0570
.0000
.0044
.0185
0.1061

0.0139
.0381
.0130
0.0650


0.0077
.0044
.0293
.0010
0.0424
0.2143
.0573
.0000
.0003
0.2719


.0003
0.0003 -


0.0119
.0000
.0198.
.0000
.0032
.0059 ,
0.0408

0.0054
.014L
.0088
0.0283-


0.0000
.0000
0.0000


0.0387
.0000 ":;
.0895
.0000
.0051
.0310
0.1643

0.0215-
.0734
.0185
0.1134


0.0020 .0.0126
.0019 .0085
.0122 .0540
.0005.... .0002.
0.0166 0.0753
0.0860 0.3530
.0907'1-nj: .0677 ;
.0000 .0000
.0001 .0003
0.1768 0.4210


Range in total costs--low 0.0344 0.0344 0.0344
--high 0.6536 0.5209 0.9207
Standard deviation 0.1685 0.0870 0.2563







The broad range reflects differences in accounting procedures used to
allocate expenses to eliminations.


COST TRENDS


Changes in the reported costs of packing oranges and grapefruit in
4/5-bushel cartons from the 1973-74 season are shown in Table 9. Total
.packing and selling costs for oranges and grapefruit in 4/5-bushel car-
tons are reported to have increased 4 and 7 percent, respectively.
Comparing individual items, repair and maintenance costs were up over
13-percent. Materials costs rose 17 and 15 percent, reflecting the
high carton costs. Labor costs were relatively stable, other direct
operating costs increased 8 and 37 percent, and indirect operating
costs decreased.
Trends in orange and grapefruit packing costs for the past 15
seasons are reported in Table 10. The rate of change in 4/5-bushel
carton packing costs between the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons was less
than half as great as the change reported between the 1972-73 and
1973-74 seasons.
The relationship between packing costs and the FOB value of packed
fruit for 4/5-bushel cartons of oranges and grapefruit in the Interior
and Indian River regions for the past eight seasons is shown in Table
11. In general, packing costs have risen relative to the value of
fruit. The changes in the ratio have not been steady because the value
of fruit has shown great variability over the past eight seasons.
Interior grapefruit and Indian River orange packing costs have shown
the greatest increases relative to the value of packed fruit.




Table 9 --Percentage change in the items that make up the total cost of packing 1 3/5-bushel Florida
oranges and grapefruit in two 4/5-bushel ca-tons, 1974-75 over 1973-74

Volume backed Oranges Grapefruit
Volume packed 0 _
(1 3/5-bu. equivalent) 1974-75 1973-74 Change 1974-75 1973-74 Change


$ per 1 3/5-ecuivalent Percent $ per I 3/5-equivalent Percent
Materials
Containers 0.6493 0.5544 17.1 0.6597 0.5760 14.5
Other materials .0254 .0207 22.7 .0306 .0257 19.1
Total materials 0.6747 0.5751 17.3 0.6903 0.6017 14.7
Labor
Receive, truck, dump 0.0477 0.0511 6.7 0.0588 0.0514 14.4
Cratemaking & labeling .0719 .0732 1.8 .0795 .0676 17.6
Foremen, graders, others .1733 .1943 -11.0 .1384 -.1731 -20.0
Packing .1627 .1538 5.8 .1590 .1293 23.0
Truck, check, load .1096 .1064 3.0 .1111 .1199 7.3
Payroll taxes, comp. ins. .0797 .0809 1.5 .0879 .0797 10.3
Total labor 0.6449 0.6602 2.3 0.6347 0.6210 2.2
Other direct oDerating
Power, lights, water 0.0336 0.0343 2.0 0.0316 0.0310 1.9
Repairs & maintenance .1045 .0924 13.1 .0965 .0629 53.4
Misc. supplies & expense .0448 .0433 3.5 .0673 .0491 37.1
Total other direct 0.1829 0.1700 7.6 0.1954 0.1430 36.6
Indirect operating
Insurance-fire & casualty 0.0127 0.0196 -35.2 0.0197 0.0186 5.9
Taxes & licenses .0152 .0225 -32.4 .0158 .0187 -15.6
Depreciation .0903 .1101 -18.0 .0927 .1029 9.9
Rent .0083 .0093 -10.8 .0064 .0082 -22.0
Total indirect operating 0.1265 0.1615 -21.7 0.1346 0.1484 9.3
Total packing expense 1.6290 1.5668 4.0 1.6550 1.5141 9.3
Administrative .1143 .1117 2.3 .1524 .1472 3.5
Selling .1640 .1593 3.0 .1806 .1732 4.3
Other items .2693 .2537 6.1 .2190 .2267 3.4
Total costs 2.1766 2.0915 4.1 2.2070 2.0612 7.1






Table 10.--Total cost per 1 3/5-bushel equivalent for packing and
selling Florida citrus by type of pack, 1959-60 through
1974-75 seasons

4/5-bu. 5-lb. poly. 8-lb. poly. 5-lb. vexar 8-lb. vexar
Season fiber- bag in bag in bag in bag in
board master master master master
box carton carton carton carton

- - - Oranges -- -- -- -- -
1959-60 $1.26 $1.66
1960-61 1.33 1.71 -
1961-62 1.32 1.69
1962-63 1.50 1.96 -
1963-64 1.42 1.88
1964-65 1.44 1.74 -
1965-66 1.49 1.88
1966-67 1.48 1.87 $1.99 $1.76
1967-68 1.57 2.02 2.27 2.12
1968-69 1.64 2.14 -- 2.30 2.16
1969-70 1.76 2.25 $2.21 2.35 2.30
1970-71 1.78 2.23 2.42 2.42 2.33
1971-72 1.81 2.27 2.21 2.41 2.30
1972-73 1.86 2.33 2.22 2.52 2.36
1973-74 2.09 2.63 2.52 2.77 2.67
1974-75 2.18 2.79 2.73 3.01 3.00

- -- Grapefruit -- ------ --
1959-60 $1.18 $1.58 $1.52 -- --
1960-61 1.20 1.63 1.50 --
1961-62 1.28 1.62 1.53 -
1962-63 1.29 1.77 1.69 -- -
1963-64 1.29 1.66 1.85 -
1964-65 1.37 1.56 1.46
1965-66 1.41 1.74 1.69 --
1966-67 1.41 1.76 1.72 $2.05 $1.79
1967-68 1.56 2.07 2.02 2.27 2.10
1968-69 1.57 1.98 1.99 2.18 2.04
1969-70 1.66 2.12 2.13 2.29 2.16
1970-71 1.71 2.14 2.19 2.35 2.21
1971-72 1.72 2.09 2.12 2.31 2.18
1972-73 1.77 2.16 2.01 2.37 2.10
1973-74 2.06 2.52 2.57 2.77 2.67
1974-75 2.21 2.72 2.61 3.01 3.28

a formation for seasons prior to 1974-75 is from Tilley
Information for seasons prior to 1974-75 is from Tilley [3].







Table 11.--Value of packed 4/5-bu. cartons of Florida oranges and
grapefruit relative to packing costs, years, 1967-68 through
1974-75 seasons, 1 3/5-bushel equivalent boxes

Interior East Coast

Season FOB value .FOB value
of packed Packig Ratioc of packed Packg Ratio
a cost a cost
fruit fruit

$ per 1 3/5-bu. Percent $ per 1 3/5-bu. Percent
equivalent equivalent
Oranges
1967-68 4.56 1.53 32 5.50 1.84 33
1968-69 4.36 1.59 36 4.72 1.90 40
1969-70 3.86 1.63 42 4.60 2.01 44
1970-71 4.26 1.75 41 4.86 1.89 39
1971-72 5.08 1.80 35 5.44 2.01 37
1972-73 4.66 1.86 40 4.80 2.14 44
1973-74 5.14 2.04 40 5.30 2.47 47
1974-75 5.42 2.13 39 5.68 2.56 45
Grapefruit
1967-68 4.68 1.84 39 5.70 1.67 29
1968-69 4.72 1.90 40 4.30 1.72 40
1969-70 4.60 2.01 44 5.04 1.81 36
1970-71 4.86 1.89 39 5.20 1.84 35
1971-72 5.16 2.01 39 5.80 1.84 32
1972-73 5.30 2.14 40 6.12 1.96 32
1973-74 5.16 1.87 36 5.74 2.21 39
1974-75 5.84 1.94 33 6.46 2.36 37


aFrom Florida Citrus Mutual [1].

Seasons prior to 1974-75 are from Tilley [3].


CRatio = packing cost value of packed fruit.














SELECTED REFERENCES


[1] Florida Citrus Mutual. Annual Statistical Report. Lakeland:
various issues.

[2] Florida Division of Fruit and Vegetable Inspection. 1974-75
Season Annual Report. Winter Haven: 1975.

[3] Tilley, Daniel S. Estimated Costs of Packing and Selling Florida
Citrus, 1973-74 Season. Food and Resource Economics Depart-
ment Economic Information Report 30. Gainesville: University
of Florida. July 1975.