COST CALCULATION IN COMPLEX TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

Transcription

1 OST ALULATION IN OMLEX TRANSORT SYSTEMS Zoltán BOKOR 1 Introduction Determining the real oeration and service costs is essential if transort systems are to be lanned and controlled effectively. ost information is necessary not only for ricing or charging issues but also for analyzing efficiency or managing resource allocation. Therefore secial attention shall be aid to the calculation of transort costs so that decisions based on this information become as correct as ossible. Several methods can assist decision suort rocedures aiming to determine transort costs. Nevertheless, understanding the cost structure in comlex transort systems may be very difficult due to the extensive intern service relations within the examined comany. In such transort systems a considerable amount of resources is consumed by multile intermediate or end services. It means that cost calculations cannot be erformed in a simle way but shall be governed by an exact methodology. The urose of the modeling rocess resented in this aer is to recommend a method which is able to coe with the roblems of cost calculation in comlex transort systems. The roosed costing tool makes advantages from the results of related researches but at the same time tries to resent a slightly alternative solution to cost allocation. It aims to determine the costs of elementary transort services more exactly and more accurately. Such elementary services can be for examle freight transort tasks, assenger transort services, road or track use services, traction services, etc. Before going into the details of the imroved costing method it is worth reviewing the so called traditional transort costing tools. This short review will highlight the arguments which exlain the need for introducing a more sohisticated cost calculation instrument in the case of transort comanies oerating comlex and heterogeneous service systems. -5-

2 2 Traditional transort costing methods Traditional costing methods based on simle cost allocation techniques are often used in the transort ractice [3]. Figure 1 illustrates the most simle calculation method where the total costs of the transort comany or system are distributed among the elementary transort services, i.e. transort rofit obects ( = 1 m) gaining revenues, in one ste. Fig. 1 Simlest allocation of total transort costs to transort rofit obects transort costs tran. rof. ob. 1 tran. rof. ob. tran. rof. ob. m Source: own edition In the starting oint the total transort costs can be distributed on an equal basis so the cost of a transort rofit obect (i.e. rime cost) can be calculated as follows: (1) m where total cost of transort rofit obect ; total cost of the transort comany. This solution assumes that the transort services are fully homogenous. Nevertheless, this is generally not the case so it is worth using a cost driver reflecting the differences between the transort services. Various transort erformance indicators, e.g. gross ton kilometer, assenger kilometer or vehicle kilometer etc., are usually used for this urose. Thus the calculation formula can be modified as follows: m 1 t t (2) -6- where t erformance of transort rofit obect.

3 The alication of this formula requires the measurement of transort erformance not only in the aggregated but also in the elementary levels of the oeration structure. Although formula (2) takes into account that the different transort services are roduced at different transort erformance levels it still ignores the fact that the set of total costs may not be homogenous. There are namely cost items which can be connected to the rofit obects directly while others can not be allocated to the elementary transort services in such a way. The former cost items constitute the set of direct costs while the set of indirect costs consists of the latter cost items. The cost structures of transort comanies or systems having comlex oeration mechanisms are often characterized by high ratio of indirect costs. So it is advisable to differentiate between the allocation of direct and indirect costs as showed by Figure 2. Fig. 2 Differentiated allocation of direct and indirect transort costs to transort rofit obects direct transort costs indirect transort costs tran. rof. ob. 1 tran. rof. ob. tran. rof. ob. m Source: own edition If the accounting system is able to register the direct costs of transort rofit obects only the indirect costs shall be distributed. The registration of direct costs can in general be absolved through the u-to-date enterrise resource management systems used by transort comanies. In case of homogenous service system the following differentiated calculation formula can be created: id d (3) m d where direct cost of transort rofit obect ; id total indirect cost of the transort comany. If the service structure is not homogenous in the comlex transort comany or system the general transort erformance indicators mentioned before can also be used -7-

4 to allocate the indirect costs to rofit obects. Thus, the formula can be modified as follows: d id m 1 t t (4) If the use of natural erformance indicators is not referred, the direct cost based indirect cost allocation may also be used as showed by equation (5): d id m 1 d d (5) Nevertheless, the ratio of direct costs is not likely to reflect the ratio of indirect costs from the oint of view of rofit obects. That is why the alication of erformance indicators as cost drivers in the allocation of indirect costs leads robably to better results, i.e. to more accurate rime cost data. So formula (4) would theoretically be an adequate cost calculation formula for comlex transort systems. Moreover, such aroaches, i.e. indirect cost allocations based on general transort erformance indicators, are often utilized in the transort sector. Thus general transort erformance indicators can effectively be used in the cost calculation regimes of transort comanies or systems having comlex oeration structures. The calculation rocedures can, however, be further imroved through alying multile erformance indicators as cost drivers. The related methods benefit from the fact that the modeling of the oerational system can be an effective tool for suorting cost allocations in comlex business-technology systems [4]. So the adatation of imroved costing methods to the secific features of transort may deliver real advantages in cost calculation and hereby in the oerative lanning and evaluation of transort systems. 3 The imroved transort costing model The backbone of the imroved costing model is the oeration model which serves as a logic model for cost allocations. The logic model deicts the oerational rocesses of the examined entity, i.e. comany or service system, and gives a guideline on how to trace indirect costs on a cause-effect basis. The oeration model or logic model is based on transort technology knowledge while the costing model can be regarded as one of the transort economics and management tools. Through -8-

5 integrating the logic model into the costing mechanism an effective combination of transort technology and transort economics knowledge can be realized. One of the methods corresonding to the requirements set before, i.e. combining technology and economics knowledge is activity-based costing (AB). This costing aroach uses activities or activity chains to trace indirect costs. AB was traditionally develoed to solve the calculation roblems of comlex manufacturing rocesses with high overhead costs [7]. After its intensive alication in the manufacturing industry the methodology was successfully adated to the service sectors as well. So alications in transort and logistics can also be found in the literature. Although AB has its focus on manufacturing oerations, it is alicable to other comany functions like distribution logistics management [20]. AB has been used to examine the alicability of different drivers for assigning activity costs to roducts in warehouse logistics environment [25]. Another examle is when the conversion of storage systems in a cellular manufacturing environment has been evaluated through estimating the economic effects of the logistics imrovements [21]. AB has been used for introducing a new cost management and decision suort system alicable for order management in suly chains. The main advantage of such systems is that they can even erform on-time rofitability and cost analyses based on the identified cost driver schemes [12]. In order to evaluate the material flows and the related logistics activities in roduction comanies a transarent reorting of logistics costs is needed. These costs remain, however, hidden in the traditional accounting systems. Activity-based costing can hel identify logistics costs classified as overhead costs in roduction systems [13]. It has also been concluded that traditional financial accounting fails to reveal real logistics costs, and AB combined with the economic value added (EVA) method can effectively be used to tackle the roblem of indirect cost allocation in logistics [24]. Suly chain management (SM) needs more accurate cost data on logistics activities. By roviding such data, AB can significantly contribute to the success of SM [1]. AB is a tool which hels managers understanding logistics costs when using the total cost aroach in managing suly chains [14]. Traditional intra-firm costing systems are not aroriate in the context of suly chains due to the missing standards of cost definitions and allocations. AB extended to suly chains can, however, be a owerful inter-firm logistics cost management tool [22]. AB can even be used for suorting tactical roduction lanning in suly chains. This tye of lanning is usually based on hysical arameters. AB can also integrate financial arameters in order to assess the costs of related logistics tasks [8]. -9-

6 Indirect costs accounts for a high ercentage in the total costs of logistics enterrises so it is worth alying an activity cost accounting model in case of such comanies [16]. The cost structure of third-arty logistics service roviders has been analyzed with secial regard to warehousing and transorting activities. It has turned out that AB is a useful tool for assessing the oerational costs of logistics service roviders [10]. Although the determination of true service or oeration costs is one of the methodological difficulties in transortation, there are few related real-life alications resented in the literature [2]. For examle, an activity-based cost management system has been introduced for timber harvesting and long-distance transort, where AB systems were formulated searately for each of the main oerations such as trucking. The foremost use for this tye of costing method is the ability to calculate the efficiency of an individual activity or of the whole logistic system as well [19]. AB has been used to calculate the costs of elementary air transort services, i.e. individual flights through identifying the corresonding cost items and their drivers [23]. The financial erformance of air transort services has also been evaluated by AB and the costing rocedure have been combined with data enveloment analysis (DEA) in order to get information not only on the costs but also on the relative efficiency [15]. It shall be noted that DEA is one of the most significant methods used in the transort sector for efficiency analysis [17]. The most detailed and sohisticated analysis of transort costs based on AB has been carried out for the case of a land transortation comany. It has been ustified that AB utilizing business rocess modeling yields more accurate cost data of transort services than traditional costing [2]. After analyzing the AB alications, it can be concluded that this is a useful method for enhancing the caabilities of transort and logistics costing. A similar but slightly different aroach is the multi-level full cost allocation (MFA) technique where indirect costs are traced along the intern service relations identified in the multilevel structure of various organization units. This aroach has already been alied in logistics management [6]. Here, however, an attemt is made to build u a general transort MFA model and demonstrate its functions. The modeling rocess utilizes the earlier outcomes of the related researches as well. The roosed costing model is shown in Figure 3. This is the imroved version of the model resented in Figure 2. The main difference is that here the set of indirect transort costs is further differentiated and the transort cost obects are introduced as new entities. -10-

7 Fig. 3 Imroved transort cost calculation model based on MFA indirect transort costs tran. co. ob. 1 direct transort costs tran. co. ob. 2 tran. co. ob. 3 tran. co. ob. k tran. co. ob. n tran. rof. ob. 1 tran. rof. ob. tran. rof. ob. m Source: own edition ost obects are the oerational elements causing the indirect costs. They are organizational units and ieces of equiment or other resources, and are arranged into a multi-level hierarchical structure. Tyical cost obects in transort systems are for examle central management units, background service units, tactical or oerative lanning and control units, disosition units, vehicles, infrastructure elements, etc. They can serve other cost obects or can contribute to the roduction of end transort services. So the relations within the set of transort cost obects and between these units and the elementary transort services are also added to the model. ost obects are indexed as k = 1 n. When cost obects lay a role as service cost obects they are indexed as i = 1 n. Indirect costs are first recorded in the cost obects as rimary costs. The rimary cost of a cost obect can be determined on the basis of the resources assigned to it. Such resources can be for examle emloyees, various means of service roduction, etc. Each cost obect shall be rovided with an indicator measuring its erformance. These indicators serve as cost drivers during the cost allocation. The relations between the obects reresent the erformance consumtions. These are the basis of indirect transort cost allocations. The allocation of indirect -11-

8 costs goes from the highest level to the lower levels of obect hierarchy. The allocation is finished when all indirect transort costs aear in the transort rofit obects. The model shall referably be created without erformance feedbacks because they may lead to iterative or heuristic solutions. Of course the distortion of costing information due to ignoring some relations of minor imortance shall be reduced as far as it is ossible. Using the MFA model of Figure 3 the total cost of a cost obect in the examined transort system can be determined by the sum of its rimary cost and the cost items allocated according to the relative erformance consumtion: k k n i1 i ki i k n i1 i ki (6) where k total cost of cost obect k; k rimary cost of cost obect k; i total cost of service cost obect i; ki erformance consumtion of cost obect k at service cost obect i; i total erformance of service cost obect i; ki erformance intensity, i.e. relative erformance consumtion of cost obect k at service cost obect i. Similarly, the total cost of a rofit obect in the examined transort system is the sum of its direct cost and the cost items allocated according to the relative erformance consumtion: d n i1 i i i d n i1 r i i (7) where i erformance consumtion of rofit obect at service cost obect i; r i erformance intensity, i.e. relative erformance consumtion of rofit obect at service cost obect i. It shall be noted, that the sequence of the calculation is fixed: the cost of a given obect can be calculated only if the total cost data of its service obects are already available. According to the rules of full cost allocation, all costs have to be allocated to the rofit obects in the end. It means that the entire erformance of each service cost obect is to be consumed so the following restriction shall be taken into account for all i: -12-

9 n k 1 m r 1 (8) ki 1 The core elements of the MFA model are the erformance intensity indicators reresenting the cost drivers. These arameters can be described in matrices as well. One of the matrices contains the relative erformance consumtions identified between the cost obects while the other one consists of the relative erformance consumtions registered between the cost obects and the rofit obects. Table 1 illustrates the merged matrices by aying attention to the restriction defined by formula (8). ost obects shall be listed in a sequence determined by their hierarchy and cost obect 1 is at the to of the hierarchy. It is obvious that ki = 0 if k = i. The calculation can be solved without iteration if no erformance feedbacks are allowed in the model, which means that ki = 0 if k < i. Tab. 1 The merged erformance intensity matrices cons./serv. co. ob. 1 co. ob. i co. ob. n co. ob n co. ob. k ki - - co. ob. n n1 - r. ob. 1 r 11 r 1n r. ob. r i r. ob. m r m1 r mn Σ i Source: own edition The MFA oeration model hels identify the relations of erformance consumtion, while erformance intensities have to be measured by aroriate technology information systems or at least estimated on the basis of verified technology lans or dedicated statistical surveys. Some mathematical models like regression analysis or analytic hierarchy rocess (AH) may also be useful here [2, 3]. It is worth noting that AH is also used in other transort management tasks, for examle in the assessment of suly quality of ublic transort [9]. Nevertheless, sound factual knowledge of the oerational characteristics of the investigated transort system or comany is needed before running the model, regardless of the methodologies and techniques used for identifying and measuring the erformance indicators. -13-

10 4 Alication After defining the MFA-based transort costing model a samle alication is carried out to demonstrate the calculation rocess. A concetual model of a transort comany is used where the examined transort system can be regarded as comlex. So the samle model deicts the oerational structure of a rail freight transort comany (see Figure 4). It is notable, that the oerational characteristics and costs of comlex railway systems are investigated by other related researches as well [18]. Fig. 4 MFA model for rail freight transort general. man. direction (No. of dir.) IT data volume (GigaByte) financial man. transaction (No. of tran.) human man. served staff (erson) service lanning oeration time (o. hour) oerative control disosition (No. of dis.) vehicle maintenance oeration time (o. hour) commercial services oeration time (o. hour) sales transaction (No. of tran.) eng. drivers working time (work. hour) wag.tye 1 running (veh. km) wag.tye V running (veh. km) eng.tye 1 running (veh. km) eng.tye Z running (veh. km) infrastructure use extern traction service freight train 1 transort erformance (ton. km) freight train Y extern logistics service consignment 1 consignment X -14- Source: [5]

11 The model resented is not alied to a articular comany but relies on observed and documented oerational features of rail transort service roviders [5]. Thus it should be adated to the concrete comany characteristics before a real-world imlementation. The ilot alication does not aim to deliver exact figures of transort costs but it intends to demonstrate how the cost calculation can be ut on a more exact basis through utilizing the MFA model. That is why arameters are used instead of real data when elaborating the calculation formulas. The oeration model suorting the samle cost calculation comrises 5 levels of cost obect hierarchy. Levels 4 and 5 contain the organizational units of central and general management and the information technology (IT) unit. ost obects assigned to levels 1-3 are resonsible for the tactical and oerative lanning and execution of rail freight transort services. The vehicles used can also be found in this grou: wagon tyes (v = 1 V) and engine tyes (z = 1 Z). These cost obects are served by the cost obects of levels 4 and 5 and serve each other or the rofit obects directly. Some relations between the cost obects of levels 4-5 and the ones of levels 1-3, and also within levels 1-3 are deicted in a simlified way; for further details see the calculation broken down later on. Each cost obect is rovided with a erformance indicator. The dimensions of the indicators aear in brackets. Note that some erformance feedbacks may be ignored in levels 4 and 5. As the cost connected to these relations amounts to only a minor art of the total cost of the comany, these simlifications will resumably not affect the ultimate cost data significantly. rofit obects are arranged into two levels. The ultimate rofit obects are the consignments (x = 1 X), i.e. the transortation tasks of consignments. Some direct costs and indirect cost allocations, however, can not be defined at this level so freight trains (y = 1 Y) have to be introduced as technical rofit obects. Extern logistics service costs are the direct cost items of consignments while the costs of freight trains are allocated to the consignments on the basis of consumed transort erformance. The costs of infrastructure use and of extern traction service are the direct costs of freight trains. The other allocations can be erformed by following the identified erformance relations deicted by the model of Figure 4. As mentioned, the ilot calculation is carried out in a arametric way by using and extracting the general formulas (6) and (7). Before defining the concrete calculation formulas a dedicated notation is introduced for the obects and their erformance indicators (see Table 2). Note that the extended erformance indicators substituted for the formulas reresent the relative erformance consumtion. For examle means: (the number of directions consumed by financial management) / (the total number of directions roduced by general management) and so on. -15-

12 Tab. 2 Abbreviations used for the calculation formulas obect erformance indicator name abbr. name abbr. general management GM direction dr information technology IT data volume dv financial management FM transaction tr human management HM served staff ss service lanning S oeration time ot oerative control O disosition ds vehicle maintenance VM oeration time ot commercial services S oeration time ot sales SA transaction tr engine drivers ED working time wt wagon tye WT running ru engine tye ET running ru freight train FT transort erformance t consignment O - - Source: own edition The cost calculation can be done in the sequence exlained in the following. As a first ste, the total costs of general management and IT can be determined as these obects are laced at the to of calculation hierarchy. Their total costs equal to their rimary costs: GM GM (9) IT IT (10) The second ste is the calculation of the total costs of financial management and human management. Their total costs consist of their rimary costs and the allocated costs coming from general management and IT: FM FM GM drfm / GM ITdvFM / IT (11) HM HM GM drhm / GM ITdvHM / IT (12) The total cost of service lanning can be calculated in the third ste by adding u its rimary cost and the allocated cost items coming from the management cost obects and IT: S dr ss (13) S GM S / GM IT dvs / IT FM trs / FM HM S / HM The total costs of oerative control, vehicle maintenance, commercial services and sales are determined in the fourth ste. The total costs of these cost obects consist -16-

13 of their rimary costs and the allocated costs coming from the management cost obects, IT, and service lanning: O HM ss O O / HM S ot O / S GM dr O / GM IT dv O / IT FM tr O / FM (14) VM HM ss VM VM / HM S ot VM / S GM dr VM / GM IT dv VM / IT FM tr VM / FM (15) S HM ss S S / HM S ot S / S GM dr S / GM IT dv S / IT FM tr S / FM (16) SA HM ss SA SA / HM S ot SA / S GM dr SA / GM IT dv SA / IT FM tr SA / FM (17) The fifth ste contains the total cost calculation of engine drivers, wagon tyes and engine tyes. The total cost of engine drivers is the sum of its rimary cost and the allocated costs coming from oerative control, IT, financial management and human management. The total costs of wagon tyes and engine tyes consist of their rimary costs and the allocated costs coming from oerative control, vehicle maintenance, IT and financial management: ED WTv ETz ds ss (18) ED WTv O O ED / O IT dved / IT FM tred / FM WTv / O VM otwt v / VM IT dvwt v / IT HM FM ED / HM ds tr (19) ETz O ETz / O VM otet z / VM IT dvet z / IT FM WTv / FM ds tr (20) ETz / FM The sixth ste is the calculation of the total costs of freight trains. These are the sum of their direct and indirect costs. The direct cost items are the costs of infrastructure use and extern traction service. The indirect costs are allocated form the engine drivers, engine tyes and commercial services: FTy in. use FTy ext. trac. FTy ED wt FTy / ED Z z1 ETz ru FTy / ETz S ot FTy / S (21) At last the total costs of the ultimate rofit obects, i.e. consignments, can be determined by registering their extern logistics service costs as direct costs, adding the allocated indirect costs coming from wagon tyes, commercial services and sales, furthermore, allocating the relevant costs form the technical rofit obects: -17-

14 Ox SA tr ext. l. ser. Ox Ox / SA Y t V ru FTy Ox / FTy WTv Ox / WTv S Ox / S y 1 v1 (22) Theoretically, the intermediate formulas (9) (21) can systematically be substituted for the final formula (22) and so the cost calculation of elementary transort services can even be carried out in one ste. Thus, finally the costs of elementary transort services are described as a function of the direct transort costs, the rimary transort costs and the relative erformance consumtions. Nevertheless, if the calculation is realized in one ste the detailed costing information of cost obects and technical rofit obects is lost. When this intermediate information is also needed for decision making uroses, it is worth referring the stewise cost calculation rocedure resented above. ot 5 Discussion The alication of the MFA model in transort systems can deliver significant advantages for decision makers. The main ositive methodological contribution is that the costs of elementary transort services, ust as in the corresonding AB models, can be determined on a more exact basis through allocating indirect costs in a transarent way. Furthermore, the cause-effect based allocation makes it ossible to exlore and identify the influencing factors of transort service costs so that the interventions aiming to imrove cost efficiency in transort systems can be established more effectively. There are further cost and erformance management functions in transort comanies which can be suorted by using the MFA costing model. For examle the imacts of smaller business rocess reengineering (BR) actions not altering the oerational structure may be modeled through incororating the modifications of cost or erformance arameters and evaluating the outcomes from the oint of view of changing service costs. Moreover, when using the model for integrated businesstechnology lanning, a detailed analysis of lan-fact deviations can also be carried out. Besides the advantages, the ossible constraints of the imlementation shall also be identified. The most imortant requirement of running the transort costing model is the availability of high quality additional inut data resented in the requested format. These are the rimary costs of cost obects and the relative erformance consumtions. roviding the additional inut data may, however, need extra data transformations or collections consuming considerable financial or human resources. -18-

15 Sometimes even estimations or industrial norms relying on ractical exerience can only be used instead of real data. Another imortant methodological difficulty to be considered is the fact that the oerational model is generally a simlified deiction of the real-world business and technology rocesses. It means that some simlifications shall be made and acceted during the modeling hase in order to make the model alicable and calculable. Using estimations and acknowledging simlifications may reduce the correctness of transort costing. Nevertheless, the accuracy of transort service costs calculated through MFA will robably be higher than of the cost data delivered by traditional costing regimes. Similar exerience has been verified by the relevant AB alications as well [2]. A ossible solution to the roblem of simlified oeration modeling can be the use of rocess maing tools which can be adated to the secific features of transort comanies as well [11]. onsequently, it can be stated that the MFA method adated to transort can deliver real methodological advantages in management and engineering ractice but at the same time may need extra resources. Due to the contingent simlifications and estimations the accuracy of the model is not absolute but it is generally still more accurate than the traditional costing rocedures. 6 onclusions As accurate service and oerational cost data are essential to lan, evaluate and manage transort systems or comanies, secial attention shall be aid to the calculation methods alied in ractice. Traditional costing methods may be sufficient cost management tools in the case of transort comanies characterized by a relatively simle oerational structure or a homogeneous set of services. Transort systems with comlex oerational features and inhomogeneous service structures, however, need an imroved cost calculation where the allocation of indirect costs can be erformed on a cause-effect basis. One of the alicable methods is the multi-level full cost allocation technique. It has been shown that MFA can be adated to transort and delivers advantages for cost and erformance management through combining technology and economics knowledge. The elementary transort cost data become more accurate while other management or engineering functions like cause-effect analysis, imact analysis or business-technology lanning can also be suorted effectively. Nevertheless, the imlementation of the imroved transort costing method may have -19-

16 several constraints so a sound consideration of the ositive results exected and the requirements to be met is recommended before deciding on the actual introduction. This work is connected to the scientific rogram of the Develoment of quality oriented and harmonized R+D+I strategy and functional model at BME roect suorted by the New Széchenyi Develoment lan (roect ID: TÁMO-4.2.1/B- 09/1/KMR ). Furthermore, this aer is reared with the suort of the roect Modeling and multi-obective otimization based control of road traffic flow considering social and economical asects of OTKA (roect ID: NK 78168). References [1] Askarany, D., Yazdifar, H., Askary, S.: Suly chain management, activity-based costing and organisational factors. International Journal of roduction Economics, vol. 127, no. 2, 2010, , doi: /.ie [2] Baykasoglu, A., Kalanoglu, V.: Alication of activity-based costing to a land transortation comany: A case study. International Journal of roduction Economics, vol. 116, no. 2, 2008, , doi: /.ie [3] Bokor, Z.: Elaborating cost and erformance management methods in transort. romet Traffic & Transortation, vol. 21, no. 3, 2009, , doi: /tt.v21i3.228 [4] Bokor, Z.: Imroving transort costing by using oeration modeling. Transort, vol. 26, no. 2, 2011, , doi: / [5] Bokor, Z.: ost calculation models for rail transort. Horizons of Railway Transort, vol. 2, no. 1, 2011, [6] Bokor, Z.: Integrating logistics cost calculation into roduction costing. Acta olytechnica Hungarica, vol. 9, no. 3, 2012, [7] Boons, A. N. A. M.: roduct costing for comlex manufacturing systems. International Journal of roduction Economics, vol. 55, no. 3, 1998, , doi: /s (98) [8] omelli, M., Fenies,., Tchernev, N.: A combined financial and hysical flows evaluation for logistic rocess and tactical roduction lanning: Alication in a comany suly chain. International Journal of roduction Economics, vol. 112, no. 1, 2008, , doi: /.ie [9] Duleba, Sz., Mishina, T., Shimazaki, Y.: A dynamic analysis on ublic bus transort s suly quality by using AH. Transort, vol. 27, no. 3, 2012, , doi: / [10] Griful-Miquela,.: Activity-based costing methodology for third-arty logistics comanies. International Advances in Economic Research, vol. 7, no. 1, 2001, , doi: /bf

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18 [24] Ye, X.: Logistics cost management based on AB and EVA integrated mode. In: roceedings of IEEE International onference on Automation and Logistics (IAL), hongqing, IEEE, 2011, , doi: /ial [25] Varila, M., Seanen, M., Suomala,.: Detailed cost modelling: a case study in warehouse logistics. International Journal of hysical Distribution & Logistics Management, vol. 37, no. 3, 2007, , doi: / Resume Accurate costing information is required for several transort management and engineering tasks. Thus it is essential to use adequate cost calculation methods in transort with secial regard to comlex transort systems characterized by a high ratio of indirect costs. Allocating indirect costs in comlex oerational systems requires a transarent and cause-effect based calculation technique like multi-level full cost allocation. This aer aims at adating this method to transort through highlighting the general as well as the secific methodological considerations. The costing model is alied to rail freight transort as a arametric samle calculation. The theoretical and the emirical modeling have showed that the imroved costing mechanism delivers advantages to transort lanning and controlling. At the same time some constraints shall also be taken into account when imlementing the calculation tool in ractice. Key words transort cost calculation, full cost allocation, multi-level allocation, oeration model, rail freight transort Dr. Zoltán Bokor, h.d. Budaest University of Technology and Economics Faculty of Transortation Engineering and Vehicle Engineering Deartment of Transortation Technology and Economics zbokor@kgazd.bme.hu -22-