Kurrat Tools, located in Montreal, produces precision equipment which it sells to all the aircraft producers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Included in the components it purchases are small, precision forgings, weighting anywhere from 2 pounds to 30 pounds. Kurrats annual purchase is 7,000 of these forgings.

The primary supplier of these precision forgings is Bradley Metals Canada Limited, located in Vancouver. Bradley Metals is known for their reputation of very high quality products and has been a reliable supplier to Kurrat Tools for many years.

The buyer of castings at Kurrat Tools estimates that their next 12-month purchase from Bradley Metals will total about 6,000, with an average weight of 15 lbs. Delivery requirements call for monthly shipments of approximately equal amounts. Since customer requirements often arent known until shortly before these forgings must be put into production, Kurrat Tools can give Bradley Metals its size requirements only about 6 weeks before the items are needed in the Montreal Plant. It typically takes Bradley Metals about 3 weeks to make their production run and have the items ready to ship.

What factors would you consider in determining the best mode of transportation for the precision forgings supplied by Bradley Metals?