The composition of transportation costs

The composition of transportation cost 2021-06-20 21:39:40 Transportation cost is composed of four items, namely infrastructure cost, operating equipment cost, operating cost and operating cost. These costs can usually be divided into four parts: variable cost, fixed cost, joint cost and common cost according to cost characteristics. 1. Variable cost Variable cost refers to the various expenses incurred by the various materials put into use and consumed at one time and the payment of remuneration for the operators in a certain period of time as the amount of transportation changes. That is, the cost directly related to each transportation is directly proportional to the transportation mileage and the transportation volume. Therefore, variable costs can only be avoided when the means of transport are not in operation. Variable costs include direct costs related to the carrier's transportation of each shipment. Such costs are usually measured by the cost per kilometer or per unit weight. In this type of cost structure, it also includes labor costs, fuel costs, and maintenance costs. 2. Fixed costs Fixed costs refer to those expenses that do not change in the short term, but must be compensated. It has no direct relationship with transportation mileage and transportation volume. This type of fixed cost includes transportation (in this case, items) that are not directly affected by the shipment volume. For transportation companies, the fixed cost structure includes terminal stations, transportation vehicles, transportation facilities, information system establishment and purchase costs. In the short term, the expenses related to fixed assets must be compensated by the above-mentioned contribution to the variable cost of each shipment; in the long term, the fixed cost burden can be reduced through the sale of fixed assets, but in reality It is often very difficult to get out of the transportation channel or transportation technology. 3. Joint cost Joint cost refers to the inevitable expenses incurred when deciding to provide a specific transportation service. For example, when the carrier decides to transport a truck of goods from location A to location B, it means that this decision has already incurred the 'joint cost' of the return transportation from location B to location A. Therefore, this cost must either be made up by the initial transportation from A to B, or a shipper with return goods must be found to make up. The combined cost has a great impact on the transportation cost, because the freight price required by the carrier must include the implicit combined cost, and its determination must consider whether the shipper has appropriate return goods, or the return transportation cost of this kind The shipper comes to make up. 4. Public costs Public costs refer to the fees paid by the carrier on behalf of all shippers or shippers in a sub-market. For example, the cost of the terminal station or the management department has the characteristics of the general management cost of the enterprise, and is usually allocated to the shipper according to the activity level, such as the number of shipments. However, using this method to apportion corporate management fees may lead to incorrect cost allocation. For example, a shipper may be in an appointment, but does not actually use the delivery service to pay for such an agreement.