Excerpts from the report: The purpose of this study was to identify and to determine the costs of two systems of handling, packaging, and transporting shell eggs from the end of the packing line to the display counter in retail stores. The first system was direct-store delivery from packing plant to retail store, and the second was warehouse-to-store delivery from packing plant, to and through central distribution warehouse, and to retail store. Various combinations of handling equipment and master cases were examined within each of these two systems. This study was conducted in three large egg packing plants, three food distribution warehouses, and nine retail stores or supermarkets.