THE IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION COST ON CONSUMERS RETAIL GOODS PRICES

ABSTRACT
 This project work examine the “impact of transportation cost on customer goods retail process”.  The population addressed were the wholesaler each was drawn.  Data were collected using questionnaire that was distributed to the wholesales and retailers of Afor Awkuanaw market (Garriki) in Enugu South Local Government Area Enugu State whom the researcher believed were more informed about the topic.  The data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistical tool, mainly frequency distribution with accompanying comments. The major findings made include: 1. Cost of transportation affects agricultural goods retailers than manufacture goods retailers. 2. Profit maximization was not always the desire for most dealers particularly those who have retired and set no retail business in order to avoid being ideal.  The reported recommended that: dealers should strive to procure goods from the one source in order to develop transporters.   TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE APPROVAL PAGE DEDICATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY RESEARCH QUESTIONS SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY
CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW THE GARRIKI MARKET TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS YAM SPECIES YAM MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION NATURE AND OPERATION OF PHYSICAL DISTRIBUTION MODULE FOR PRICE DEFINITION OF TRANSPORT YAM PRODUCING AREAS
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY SOURCES OF DATA PRIMARY SOURCE OF DATA SECONDARY SOURCE OF DATA POPULATION OF THE STUDY DETERMINATION OF SAMPLE SIZE
CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA APPENDIX I APPENDIX II
CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS RECOMMENDATIONS SUGGESTED AREAS FOR FURTHER STUDY CONCLUSION  BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
 As life started mankind begin to nurse the need for basic necessities of life for physiological satisfaction as food, shelter, safety, among other things. At first man tried to provide the necessary things to satisfy his needs to engaging in hunting, fetching some selected plants for food and find shelter among tree shades as well as applying plants leaves to cover his nakedness.  In the process of advancement man learnt that he could not provide all his needs by himself.  Then the exchange process started.  This began as an exchange of goods for goods otherwise called trade by barter.  The person who has a particular product in excess of his need of that particular moment would look for the person that has a need for his excess. Produce and at the same time has the produce he lacked so that an exchange could take place.  So the earliest trading or buying and selling practices were done on retail basis through the barter process.  When a common medium of exchange could monthly was inverted the practices of trade by barter became less relevant in the exchange process.  When barter was in vogue buyers and sellers did not take a conscious account of the cost and burden of carrying the goods around in search of a market.  As money became the means of payment even the service of carrying marketable commodities tot eh market was paid for. Price has to be put on every commodity using money as the standard of measurement.  The seller in calculating the expenses of this business has to add the cost of transporting product from the point of production to the point of consumption.  In the ancient times, man used mostly the bests of burden to carry his goods from the point of production to the point of consumption, transportation nowadays has become more sophisticated, convenient, and faster.  Some of the mode of transportation include transport on railway, motor vehicles on road, ship, boats, canoes paddling though water and the airoplane flying I the airway.  The nature of production items of the order as well as the location of the market and the type of the market will determine the mode of transportation to employ.  (Onyebunagu 1995). Transportation is involved in every level of production and distribution until the product reaches the final users.  Industrial revolution came into place and led to increasing productive capacity. Most manufacturers and sellers want to enjoy the benefit of the economy offered by large-scale production and distribution.  They also aspire to explore large markets and operate at competitive levels.  They have to manage costs and process to be able to operate with efficiency and remains a float.  In the Nigerian case, these distribution cost specifically transportation costs are sometimes viewed as some of the factors that account fro increasing prices of goods.  This study “the impact of transportation cost on consumer goods retail prices”, a case study of yam prices at the garriki market Enugu south L.G.A, Enugu State will discover whether cost of transportation constitute significance proportion of the price of consumer foods, particularly yams in the Garriki market.