CASE 13–30 Make or Buy; Utilization of a Constrained Resource [LO1, LO3, LO5]
TufStuff, Inc. sells a wide range of drums, bins, boxes, and other containers that are used in the chemical industry. One of the company’s products is a heavy-duty corrosion-resistant metal drum, called the WVD drum, used to store toxic wastes. Production is constrained by the capacity of an automated welding machine that is used to make precision welds. A total of 2,000 hours of welding time is available annually on the machine. Because each drum requires 0.4 hours of welding time, annual production is limited to 5,000 drums. At present, the welding machine is used exclusively to make the WVD drums. The accounting department has provided the following financial data concerning the WVD drums:

WVD Drums
Selling price per drum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $149.00
Cost per drum:
Direct materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $52.10
Direct labor ($18 per hour) . . . . . . . . 3.60
Manufacturing overhead . . . . . . . . . . 4.50
Selling and administrative expense. . 29.80 90.00
Margin per drum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 59.00