Methodology and Definitions
 
Data in this report are end-of-month regional and US totals of various food
commodities stored in cold storage warehouses.  Some figures have been revised
from those published in the monthly "Cold Storage" report, primarily due to
late reports or reporting and tabulation errors.  Occasionally, new firms or
established firms who have not been responding to our request for information,
begin to report.  This may cause a shift in the data which is due to the change
in the number of plants reporting rather than an actual change in the level of
stocks reported.  Where only US totals are listed, regional totals were not
published to avoid disclosure of individual operations.
 
Data are collected monthly from warehouses artificially cooled to a temperature
of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and whose food products are normally stored
for 30 days or more.  All food items in these facilities are reported
regardless of the number of days stored at the time of the report.  Also
included are specialized storage facilities meeting the 30 day requirement,
such as fruit houses, dairy manufacturing plants, frozen fruit, fruit juice,
and vegetable processors, and poultry and meat packing plants.  Excluded are
stocks in space maintained by wholesalers, jobbers, distributors, chain stores,
locker plants containing individual lockers, meat packer branch houses, and
frozen food processors whose entire inventories are turned over more than once
a month.
 
Government owned stocks are food products held by the Commodity Credit
Corporation, Armed Forces, and other government agencies, including State and
local governments.  Food held in refrigerated space owned, leased, or operated
by the Armed Services is not reported.
 
Geographic Regions:  The regions and States covered in this summary are as
follows:
 
 New England:  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and
               Connecticut.
 
 Middle Atlantic:  New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
 
 East North Central:  Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
 
 West North Central:  Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota,
                      Nebraska, and Kansas.
 
 South Atlantic:  Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West
                  Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
                  and Florida.
 
 East South Central:  Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi.
 
 West South Central:  Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.
 
 Mountain: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah,
           and Nevada.
 
 Pacific:  Washington, Oregon, and California.