A company currently ships its product from five plants to four warehouses. It is considering closing one or more plants to reduce cost. What plant(s) should the company close, in order to minimize transportation and fixed costs?

Warehouse Demand in Thousands of Units Warehouse 1 Warehouse 2 Warehouse 3 Warehouse 4 Demand 15 18 14 20 Plant Capacity in Thousands of Units Plant 1 Plant 2 Plants 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Capacity 20 22 17 19 18 Fixed Costs for Each Plant Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Fixed Cost 12,000 15,000 17,000 13,000 16,000 Transportation Costs per Thousand Units Plant 1 Plant 2 Plant 3 Plant 4 Plant 5 Warehouse 1 4,000 2,000 3,000 2,500 4,500 Warehouse 2 2,500 2,600 3,400 3,000 4,000 Warehouse 3 1,200 1,800 2,600 4,100 3,000 Warehouse 4 2,200 2,600 3,100 3,700 3,200