Contribution Margin Reporting and Analysis for a Service Company East Coast Railroad Company transports commodities among three routes (city-pairs): Atlanta/Baltimore, Baltimore/Pittsburgh, and Pittsburgh/Atlanta. Significant costs, their cost behavior, and activity rates for April are as follows: Cost Amount Cost Behavior Activity Rate Labor costs for loading and unloading railcars $175,582 Variable $46.00 per railcar Fuel costs 460,226 Variable 12.40 per train-mile Train crew labor costs 267,228 Variable 7.20 per train-mile 118,327 Variable 31.00 per railcar Switchyard labor costs Track and equipment depreciation 194,400 Fixed Maintenance 129,600 Fixed $1,345,363 Operating statistics from the management information system reveal the following for April: Atlanta/ Baltimore Baltimore/ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh/ Atlanta Total Number of train-miles 12,835 10,200 14,080 37,115 Number of railcars 425 2,160 1,232 3,817 Revenue per railcar $600 $275 $440 The management of East Coast Railroad Company improved the profitability of the Atlanta/Baltimore route in May by reducing the price of a railcar from $600 to $500. This price reduction increased the demand for rail services. Thus, the number of railcars increased by 275 railcars to a total of 700 railcars. This was accomplished by increasing the size of each train but not the number of trains. Thus, the number of train-miles was unchanged. All the activity rates remained unchanged. a. Prepare a contribution margin report for the Atlanta/Baltimore route for May. Calculate the contribution margin ratio in percentage terms to one decimal place. East Coast Railroad Company Contribution Margin for Atlanta/Baltimore Route For the Month Ended May 31 Revenues 350,000 Labor costs for loading and unloading railcars $ 32,200 Fuel costs 159,154 Train crew labor costs 92,412 Switchyard labor costs 21,700 Total variable costs 305,466 Contribution margin 44,534 12.7 Contribution margin ratio % b. Prepare a contribution margin analysis to evaluate management's actions in May. Assume that the May planned quantity, price, and unit cost was the same as April. The planned contribution margin is given below. If an amount is zero, enter "0". East Coast Railroad Company Contribution Margin Analysis-Atlanta/Baltimore Route For the Month Ended May 31 Planned contribution margin $(29,291) Effect of change in sales: Sales quantity factor Unit price factor O Total effect of change in sales Effect of changes in variable cost of goods sold: Variable cost quantity factor Unit cost factor Total effect of changes in variable cost of goods sold Actual contribution margin 44,534