1 - Borges Machine Shop, Inc., has a 1-year contract for the production of 225,000 gear housings for a new off-road vehicle. Owner Luis Borges hopes the contract will be extended and the volume increased next year. Borges has developed costs for three alternatives. They are general-purpose equipment (GPE), flexible manufacturing system (FMS), and expensive, but efficient, dedicated machine (DM). The cost data follow:

General-Purpose Equipment (GPE) Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) Dedicated Machine (DM) Annual contracted units 225,000 225,000 225,000 Annual fixed cost $125,000 $200,000 $525,000 Per unit variable cost $18.00 $14.00 $13.00

The option GPE is best when the contracted volume is below ________________

units (enter your response as a whole number). please kindly explain step by step as simple as you can . Thank you