Conclusiones y recomendaciones

The processed meat (boxed beef) from each of the four major meat processing facilities is transported to various customers in the United States. For analysis purposes, researchers assumed that processed meat is first distributed to customers in large cities in the U.S. including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix. Then, the meat is distributed from these large cities to customers in other

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small cities and towns. There are two reasons that the researchers make these assumptions.

1. Based on interviews conducted during the site visits, researches come to a

consensus that these six cities represent the biggest cities in the east, south, west, and north directions from where the processed meat is mostly distributed to other small cities and towns.

2. The same highways in the southwest Kansas region are used to transport the

processed meat to customers in the U.S. even if the final destinations are not in these six cities.

With the above assumptions, the calculation of truck VMT for transporting meat to U.S. customers is transferred to the determination of truck VMT for transporting meat to the six US cities. To calculate the VMT for transporting meat to the six cities, the distances traveled from the respective meat processing facilities to the six cities were determined first using TransCAD software. The results are presented in Appendix IX. Mileages have been tabulated separately for the southwest Kansas area, other areas in Kansas, and outside of Kansas. Next, it is necessary to calculate the annual truckloads of boxed beef originating at each of the meat processing facilities. It should be noted that the meat processing facilities receive cattle from feed yards in southwest Kansas and from other states and/or other parts of Kansas. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the total red meat (boxed beef) produced (in truckloads or pounds) from these two sources at each meat processing facilities.

Considering the calculations for the Excel Corporation in Dodge City, the annual number of truckloads from Table 5.14 (20,672 truckloads, pp. 95-96) and the number of

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finished cattle per truck from Table 5.2 (45 head of finished cattle per truck) are used to calculate the annual number of finished cattle coming to Excel from feed yards in southwest Kansas.

Annual number of finished cattle shipped to the Excel Corporation in Dodge City coming from feed yards within southwest Kansas

= Annual number of truckloads x Number of finished cattle per truck = 20,672 x 45

= 930,240 finished cattle

Annual number of finished cattle shipped to the Excel Corporation in Dodge City coming from other states and/or other parts of Kansas (Table 5.19)

= Annual number of truckloads from all directions x Number of finished cattle per truck

= (1,410 + 1,410 + 1,410 + 9,874) x 45 = 634,680 finished cattle

Therefore, total annual number of finished cattle coming to Excel = Annual number of cattle coming from feed yards

+ Annual number of cattle coming from other states and/or other parts of Kansas = 930,240 + 634,680

= 1,564,920 finished cattle at Excel

Based on the data collected from site visits, the weight of cattle at the time of processing is 1,200 lbs. with about 720 lbs. (60%) of red meat and 480 lbs. (40%) of byproducts. Also, a truck can carry a total of 42,000 lbs. of boxed beef. Therefore, the

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annual quantity of red meat originating at the Excel Corporation in Dodge City is as follows:

Annual quantity of red meat from Excel

= Total annual number of finished cattle coming to Excel x 720 lbs. = 1,564,920 finished cattle x 720 lbs.

= 1,126,742,400 lbs. of red meat

Therefore, annual number of truckloads of boxed beef produced at Excel = Annual quantity of red meat from Excel / Truck Capacity = 1,126,742,400 / 42,000

= 26,827 truckloads of boxed beef

Thus, it is estimated that the Excel Corporation in Dodge City produced 26,827 truckloads of boxed beef in 2005. Using the same procedure, researchers determined the truckloads of boxed beef shipped by the other three meat processing facilities.

It is further assumed that the quantity of boxed beef from each of the meat processing facilities (origins) is equally distributed among the six large cities (destinations). Accordingly, about 16.67% (1/6 =16.67%) of the annual number of truckloads of boxed beef originating at each meat processing facility is distributed to each of the six cities. Therefore, the annual number of truckloads shipped from each meat processing facility to each of the six cities is as follows:

Annual number of truckloads from one meat processing facility to each of the six cities

= 16.67% x Annual number of truckloads of boxed beef at one meat processing facility

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For example, at the Excel Corporation in Dodge City, the annual number of truckloads shipped to each of the six cities is as follows:

Annual number of truckloads from Excel to each of the six cities = 16.67% x 26,827

= 4,471 truckloads of boxed beef

The weight of these truckloads of boxed beef is equal to 187,782,000 lbs. (4,471 x 42,000 lbs.). The formula used to determine the annual truck VMT for transporting boxed beef from a meat processing facility to each of the six cities is:

Annual truck VMT from one meat processing facility to each of the six cities = Annual truckloads from meat processing facility to six cities x Total distance traveled in southwest Kansas

For example, annual truck VMT for transporting boxed beef from the Excel Corporation in Dodge City to Atlanta can be calculated using the above formula:

Annual Truck VMT from Excel to Atlanta = 4,471 x 91.76

= 410,259

Daily Truck VMT from Excel to Atlanta = Annual Truck VMT / 365

= 410,259 / 365

= 1,124

Similarly, the truck VMT can be calculated on a daily and annual basis for the remaining five cities. The results are tabulated in Table 5.20.

171 Destination Distance Traveled in Southwest Kansas (miles) Annual Truckloads

(trucks) Annual VMT Daily VMT

Atlanta 91.76 4,471 410,259 1,124 Chicago 91.76 4,471 410,259 1,124 Dallas 132.31 4,471 591,558 1,621 Los Angeles 86.61 4,471 387,233 1,061 New York 91.76 4,471 410,259 1,124 Phoenix 20.21 4,471 90,359 248 Total 26,827 2,299,927 6,301

The calculation procedure described above is used to determine the daily and annual truck VMT for transporting meat to the six cities from the other three meat processing facilities including National Beef in Dodge City (Table 5.21), National Beef in Liberal (Table 5.22), and Tyson Fresh Meats in Holcomb (Table 5.23).

Destination Distance Traveled in Southwest Kansas (miles) Annual Truckloads

(trucks) Annual VMT Daily VMT

Atlanta 86.88 4,471 388,440 1,064 Chicago 86.88 4,471 388,440 1,064 Dallas 66.85 4,471 298,886 819 Los Angeles 70.53 4,471 315,340 864 New York 42.65 4,471 190,688 522 Phoenix 20.21 4,471 90,359 248 Total 26,827 1,672,153 4,581 Destination Distance Traveled in Southwest Kansas (miles) Annual Truckloads

(trucks) Annual VMT Daily VMT

Atlanta 3 4,471 13,413 37 Chicago 116 4,471 518,636 1,421 Dallas 3 4,471 13,413 37 Los Angeles 3 4,471 13,413 37 New York 116 4,471 518,636 1,421 Phoenix 3 4,471 13,413 37 Total 26,827 1,090,924 2,989

Table 5.20: Daily & Annual Truck VMT within Southwest Kansas Region for Transporting Meat from Excel Corporation in Dodge City to Six US Cities

Table 5.21: Daily & Annual Truck VMT within Southwest Kansas Region for Transporting Meat from National Beef in Dodge City to Six US Cities

Table 5.22: Daily & Annual Truck VMT within Southwest Kansas Region for Transporting Meat from National Beef in Liberal to Six US Cities

172 Destination Distance Traveled in Southwest Kansas (miles) Annual Truckloads

(trucks) Annual VMT Daily VMT

Atlanta 72.6 4,471 324,595 889 Chicago 72.6 4,471 324,595 889 Dallas 138.25 4,471 618,116 1,693 Los Angeles 43.97 4,471 196,590 539 New York 72.6 4,471 324,595 889 Phoenix 43.97 4,471 196,590 539 Total 26,827 1,985,081 5,439

However, it should be noted that the above analysis only considers one-way trips. After unloading the boxed beef at the destinations, trucks have to go back to their origins (roundtrip). Table 5.24 shows the total daily and annual truck VMT of roundtrip shipments in the southwest Kansas region for transporting boxed beef to the six U.S. cities.

No. Meat processing facility Annual VMT Daily VMT

1 Excel Corporation, Dodge City 4,599,854 12,602

2 National Beef, Dodge City 3,344,306 9,162

3 National Beef, Liberal 2,181,848 5,978

4 Tyson Fresh Meats, Holcomb 3,970,162 10,878

Total 14,096,170 38,620