The High Cost of the Short Haul
Northern Pacific updates freight tariffs, sparking debate on the economics of farm-to-rail transport.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Effective December 1, the Northern Pacific announces a special tariff on carload lots of wheat for varied distances between points on its line in this state, which range from 3 cents per hundred pounds for 10 miles or less, down to 15 1/2 cents per cwt for a distance ranging between 350 and 375 miles. Grain growers claim that it costs the farmers 2 cents per bushel per mile for the first mile and 1 cent for each additional mile to haul wheat in wagons by team. On this basis it costs the farmer who has to haul his grain but five miles to the railroad 10 cents per cwt. for the wagon haul, while the railroad will transport the wheat 200 miles for the same amount. This special tariff applies to and between all stations east of and including Thorp, Washington.
“It costs the farmer who has to haul his grain but five miles to the railroad 10 cents per cwt. for the wagon haul, while the railroad will transport the wheat 200 miles for the same amount.”
The tension between local agricultural producers and the logistics monopolies controlling their access to markets remains a core conflict in the Inland Northwest. While the mode of transport has shifted from wagons to heavy trucks, the economic pressure of 'last-mile' costs on farmers is a direct ancestor to modern supply chain grievances.
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