Grant Industries, a manufacturer of electronic parts, has recently received an invitation to bid on a special order for 20,000 units of one of its most popular products. Grant currently manufactures 40,000 units of this product at its plant. The plant is operating at 50 percent of capacity. There will be no marketing costs on this special order. The sales manager of Grant wants to set the bid price at $9 per unit because he is sure that Grant will get business at that price. Others on the management team of the firm object, saying that Grant would lose money on the special order at that price. Below is information on Grants costs at different levels of production:

Units	40,000	60,000
Manufacturing costs
Direct materials	$80,000	$120,000
Direct labor	120,000	180,000
Factory overhead	240,000	300,000
Total manufacturing costs	$440,000	$600,000
Cost per unit	$11	$10

Requirements:

1. Explain why the cost per unit declines from $11 to $10 when the production level rises from 40,000 units to 60,000 units.

2. Will a $9 bid price increase Grants profit? If yes, by how much? Show supporting computations.

3. List two qualitative factors that Grant should consider in deciding whether to accept this special order?

4. If the special order was for 50,000 units, why might Grants bid price per unit be higher than the bid price per unit for an order of 20,000 units? It is only necessary to answer this question in words.