Excerpts from the report Summary: Depreciation of assets -- one of the costs of doing business -- rose steadily during 1949-59 and likely will continue to rise. Corporate agricultural marketing firms -- those handling food and kindred products and textile-mill products, food retailers, beverage manufacturers, and tobacco manufacturers -- more than doubled their dollar charges for depreciating assets in the 10 years. Increases were typical of all corporations in the U. S. economy. Since World War II, dollars of depreciation have increased more rapidly than gains in total receipts but profits after taxes have declined. The total of the two (depreciation and after-tax profits) -- sometimes called total cash flow – declined in the late 1940’s and reached a low in the early 1950's. Since then total cash flow has increased for the agricultural industries.