The High Cost of Distance
A local retailer highlights how exorbitant shipping rates are stifling the development of the Inland Northwest.
As an illustration of the way the Northwest is handicapped by transportation charges, the following serves to mark the point. E. E. Ellsworth recently received a shipment of 25 pounds of kodak supplies from San Francisco, the charges for which were $4.38, or 17.5 cents per pound. As the goods in question were valued at about $15, it will be seen that the transportation charge was about 30 per cent of the value of the consignment. As they are a class of goods sold at a fixed price on a narrow margin, the problem of the retailer in placing goods before his customer is easily apparent. The Northwest needs and must have lower transportation charges before it can reach full development.
“The Northwest needs and must have lower transportation charges before it can reach full development.”
This 1909 complaint about the 'tyranny of distance' and shipping costs echoes modern frustrations with supply chain volatility and the economic isolation of rural communities. The struggle to maintain local retail margins against national shipping overhead remains a core tension in small-town commerce.
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