In the transportation problem with ai and bj of some size and not all the same, the formal method results infrequently in negative solutions. Negative xij do occur sometimes in the solution of the assignment problem (ai = bj = 1) as is illustrated in Table 5 where it is necessary that x12 = - 1 to cancel off one of the surplus values in row 1 and one of those in column 2. For the transportation generalization of the problem of Table 5 with b3 + b2 > a4 the negative solution results only when a1 -b1-b4 equals b2- a2 - a3 and is negative.