Milk run

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 air or rail travel, a milk run may be 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 multi-stop, regularly-scheduled flights by a single aircraft. Current examples include:

Logistics

In logistics, a milk run is a circular route.[9]

References
  1. "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. "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. "The True Aussie "Milk Run"". 2 December 2016.
  9. 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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