Since labor costs to move products from the processors' loading docks to store shelves take about 22 cents of each food dollar, a decline in labor productivity over recent years is a growing concern to consumers and the food industry. From 1929 to 1972, labor productivity in the Nation's retailing and wholesaling industries was marked by rapid gains. However, by 1977 these gains had slowed considerably, and by the end of the decade productivity in the food industry had registered a decline. These developments evolved over the past half century from the continuous changes in the food industry.