how many boxes of corn flakes you think they can get in one of the 53' trailers

lets do some math

semi trialer has a cubic capacity of 4050 cubic feet

box of corn flakes takes up about 0.25 cubic feet

thats 16,200 boxes of corn flakes

lets round down a bit to account for some additional packing like a skid on the bottom, thats really about it considering they shrink wrap em

so lets say for easy math 15,000 boxes

assuming that truck has to run 1500 miles to make a delivery (again fudging the numbers in your favor as not all runs are 1500 miles) and figure $2 a loaded mile which is probably high since these guys are always back hauling

thats $3000 for shipping

THAT COMES OUT TO $0.20 PER BOX

SO WE ARE UP TO $0.15 PER BOX DEPENDING ON SIZE FOR RAW PRODUCT

ADD ANOTHER $0.20 PER BOX FOR TRANSPORTATION

SO A $3-$4 BOX OF CEREAL HAS $0.35 WORTH OF RAW PRODUCTS AND TRANSPORTATION

not to mention the transportation is higher than the raw product

lets assume it takes about a $1.00 per box to process/manufacture the product, betting that is supper high but whatever

we are now at $1.35 per box

so anywhere from $1.65 to $2.65 per box is gobbled up by the middle man and marketing

$8 corn is by far the cheapest element in this entire equation, AND IT GETS ALL THE BLAME

if that doesnt make you go HMMM, well whatever