Fireside Tire Company, a manufacturer of radial tires for sport utility vehicles, sells its products in the automotive aftermarket and distribution them throughout the United States. Fireside has three tire production plants located in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; and Macomb, Illinois (see map). Normally, Fireside ships tires from its plants to distribution centers, but truckload-size purchases typically are transported directly from plants to customer locations. All shipments to a region move under truck-load rates applying to a minimum weight of 40,000 pounds, or 400 cwt. Fireside management is concerned about the most economical location for a distribution center to serve its southeastern region, consisting of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, and southeastern Tennessee. Although an Atlanta distribution center currently serves this region, Fireside management is concerned that the Atlanta location is not the most logistically sound alternative. To help the logistics department conduct an analysis of this region's distribution center location using the grid method. Fireside's transportation department developed the following data based on projections for 2008: 2008 Shipments to Atlanta Grid Coordinates From CWT RATE/CWT Mileage Horizontal Vertical Toledo 15K $2.20 640 1,360 1,160 Macomb 5K $2.43 735 980 1,070 Allentown 11K $2.52 780 1,840 1,150 2008 Shipments From Atlanta Grid Coordinates TO CWT Horizontal Vertical Chattanooga 2,700 1,350 650 Atlanta 3,500 1,400 600 Tampa 4,300 1,570 220 Birmingham 2,800 1,260 580 Miami 5,300 1,740 90 Jacksonville 5,100 1,600 450 Columbia 2,200 1,600 650 Charlotte 2,900 1,590 740 Raleigh/Durham 2,200 1,700 800 CAse study Questions 1. Based on the available information is Atlanta the best location for a distribution center to serve the shouteast region? If not, what would you recommend? 2. The Fireside transportation department projects a 25 percent irate increase in 2013 from all of its transportation providers. How will this affect the southeastern location? 3. Marketing anticipates that the raliegh Durham market will grow by 3000 cwt in 2014, and tyhat fireside will serve the growth from Allentown. how will this affect Atlanta as a location?