In: Accounting
East Coast Railroad Company transports commodities among three routes (city-pairs): Atlanta/Baltimore, Baltimore/Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh/Atlanta. Significant costs, their cost behavior, and activity rates for April are as follows:
Cost | Amount | Cost Behavior | Activity Rate |
Labor costs for loading and unloading railcars | $ 175,582 | Variable | $46.00 per railcar |
Fuel costs | 460,226 | Variable | 12.40 per train-mile |
Train crew labor costs | 267,228 | Variable | 7.20 per train-mile |
Switchyard labor costs | 118,327 | Variable | 31.00 per railcar |
Track and equipment depreciation | 194,400 | Fixed | |
Maintenance | 129,600 | Fixed | |
Total Amount | $1,345,363 |
Operating statistics from the management information system reveal the following for April:
Atlanta/Baltimore | Baltimore/Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh/Atlanta | Total | |
Number of train miles | 12,835 | 10,200 | 14,080 | 37,115 |
Number of railcars | 425 | 2,160 | 1,232 | 3,817 |
Revenue per railcar | $600 | $275 | $440 |
Instructions
1. Prepare a contribution margin by route report for East Coast Railroad Company for the month of April. Compute the contribution margin ratio in whole percents, rounded to one decimal place.
2. Discuss the route performance of the railroad using the above report.