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CAPACITY UTILIZATION RATE: The ratio of actual production by business sector factories and other productive establishments in the economy to the potential production of these establishments. This rate indicates if our economy's factories are being used as effectively and as fully as possible. Like the unemployment rate, the capacity utilization rate measures how close our economy is to full employment. And like unemployment, this rate moves up and down over the course of a business cycle. During expansions, the rate is near 85 percent (considered full employment), and during contractions, it tends to be in the 70 percent range. In addition to an overall rate, there are also separate rates for manufacturing, mining, and utility industries.
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                           FIXED COST: In general, cost that does not change with changes in the quantity of output produced. More specifically, fixed cost is combined with the adjectives "total" and "average" to indicate the overall level of fixed cost or the per unit fixed cost. Fixed cost is incurred whether of not any output is produced. The contrast to fixed cost is variable cost, cost which does change with the quantity produced. Fixed cost is cost that does not depend on the quantity of output produced. In other words, the same fixed cost is incurred at any and all output levels. This means that total fixed cost is, in fact, FIXED. However, it also means that average fixed cost, or fixed cost per unit, declines as the output level increases. Spreading $100 over 1,000 units gives a lower per unit fixed cost than spreading $100 over 10 units.Fixed InputsFor a firm, fixed cost usually includes the cost of using fixed inputs, assorted resources that are held fixed in the short run, especially capital and land. However, in practice, fixed cost includes any and all cost that does not vary with the quantity of output. This also includes overhead cost, administrative salaries, loan repayment expenses, and even marketing costs.For example, Waldo's TexMex Taco World operates in the short run with labor (the workers) as a variable input and capital (the restaurant and equipment) as a fixed input. As such, the cost associated with the capital input is likely to be fixed cost. This includes payments for the use of the restaurant building--rent if the building is not owned by Waldo's TexMex Taco World or interest payments if funds were borrowed to purchase the restaurant. Other fixed cost, however, might not be directly associated with short-run fixed inputs. For example, administrative salaries, such as that to the President of Waldo's TexMex Taco World (Waldo Millbottom), are paid whether Waldo's TexMex Taco World produces 1 taco or 1 billion tacos. This cost is not, strictly speaking, associated with a fixed input, but it is a fixed cost. Total and AverageThe two most common manifestations of fixed cost are total fixed cost and average fixed cost.- Total Fixed Cost: This is the total amount of fixed cost incurred in the production of a good. It combines all fixed opportunity cost.
- Average Fixed Cost: This is the per unit fixed cost, which is calculated by dividing total fixed cost by the quantity of output produced. Because total fixed cost is fixed, average fixed cost declines as quantity increases.
Recommended Citation:FIXED COST, AmosWEB Encyclonomic WEB*pedia, http://www.AmosWEB.com, AmosWEB LLC, 2000-2024. [Accessed: October 5, 2024].
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Today, you are likely to spend a great deal of time searching for a specialty store wanting to buy either a half-dozen helium filled balloons or a packet of address labels large enough for addresses of both the sender and the recipient. Be on the lookout for deranged pelicans.
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Much of the $15 million used by the United States to finance the Louisiana Purchase from France was borrowed from European banks.
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