A milk run, milk round, or milk route is the fixed route taken to pick up milk from dairy farmers, or to deliver milk to consumers, as part of a milk delivery system.[1] In extended usage, it may be a transportation service that has many stops. Metaphorically, it may be a slow or tedious trip, a military air mission posing little danger, or any circular route.

Dairy use

Milk runs are documented in the American Upper Midwest as early as 1917, where it was a train that made frequent stops to pick up farmers' milk cans for shipment to local dairies for processing and bottling.[2]

It may also be the route used to distribute full milk bottles and collect empties by a milkman.[3] The route may be sold by one milkman to another.[1]

Transportation

In scheduled passenger airline or rail travel, a milk run may involve a trip with many stops,[4][1] and more generally a slow, tedious trip. It may also be an uneventful trip.[4]

Military aviation

For United States Army Air Corps and Royal Air Force aircrews, a milk run was a mission posing little danger.[5]

Commercial aviation

In the airline industry, a "milk run" is a multi-stop, regularly-scheduled passenger flight operated with a single aircraft. Current examples include:

An historical example of a transcontinental airline milk run in the U.S. in 1962 was National Airlines (1934-1980) flight 223 operated daily with a Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop aircraft on a south and then westbound routing of Boston - New York City - Jacksonville, FL - Orlando - Tampa - New Orleans - Houston - Las Vegas - San Francisco.[9][10][11] According to the March 2, 1962 National Airlines system timetable, flight 223 departed Boston at 7:30 am and then arrived in San Francisco at 8:42 pm on the same day with seven intermediate stops en route.

Logistics

In logistics, a milk run is a circular route.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "milk run, n. meanings, etymology and more | Oxford English Dictionary". www.oed.com. Retrieved 2023-10-23.
  2. ^ Wegner, A. C. (February 3, 1917). "A Heavy Freight Carrying Railway". Electric Railway Journal. XLIX (5): 207f. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  3. ^ Werner, Hartmut (2008): Supply Chain Management. Grundlagen Strategien Instrumente und Controlling /// Grundlagen, Strategien, Instrumente und Controlling. 3., vollständig überarbeitete und erweiterte Auflage. Wiesbaden: Betriebswirtschaftlicher Verlag Dr. Th. Gabler | GWV Fachverlage GmbH Wiesbaden
  4. ^ a b "MILK RUN (noun) American English definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary". www.macmillandictionary.com. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  5. ^ Ammer, Christine (1989). Fighting Words from War, Rebellion, and Other Combative Capers. BookBaby. p. 14. ISBN 1626759669.
  6. ^ "The Milk Run is a hop, skip and a jump along Southeast Alaska's coast". Alaska Airlines Blog. 2015-06-11. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  7. ^ Kirkland, Erin (2014). Alaska on the Go. University of Alaska Press. p. 9. ISBN 9781602232211. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
  8. ^ Pfleger, Jacob (2 December 2016). "The True Aussie 'Milk Run'". Airline Reporter. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  9. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/na62/na62-1.jpg
  10. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/na62/na62-5.jpg
  11. ^ https://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/complete/na62/na62-7.jpg
  12. ^ Meusel, Winfrid (1995): Realisierung eines Logistikberater-Arbeitsplatzes für das Frachtkostencontrolling mit wissensbasierten Elementen. Nürnberg, Univ., Diss.--Erlangen, 1995. Frankfurt am Main, Berlin: Lang (Europäische Hoch-schulschriftenReihe 5, Volks- und Betriebswirtschaft, 1755).
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