Reciprocal estimation of the raw material cost of producing hardwood lumber using the principles of activity-based costing.

This paper presents an experimental method that can be used by sawmill managers to estimate the raw material cost of producing hardwood lumber products more precisely than current cost allocation techniques. Based on the concept of activity-based costing, the proposed costing technique, termed the lumber yield method, enables allocation of raw material costs incurred during a production run to the lumber products produced. In contrast to current costing techniques used by hardwood sawmills, the proposed methodology does not use volume of lumber produced as the matrix for allocating raw material costs. Rather raw material costs are allocated based upon the estimated yield of products from the raw material input into the sawmill system. Through the use of discrete-event simulation, the precision of the lumber yield method was tested against two cost accounting methods (activity-based costing method and traditional costing method). Analysis of the output from the simulation models illustrated that with the lumber yield method, the amount of raw material costs allocated to the products was not significantly different from the amount allocated by the activity-based costing method. The calculated raw material costs of the products were, however, found to be significantly different between the lumber yield method and the traditional volume costing method. These results illustrate that the lumber yield method more precisely allocates raw material costs to the products than the traditional cost accounting method.