A company that produces pleasure boats has decided to expand one of its lines. Current facilities are insufficient to handle the increased workload, so the company is considering three alternatives, A (new location), B (subcontract), and C (expand existing facilities).

Alternative A would involve substantial fixed costs but relatively low variable costs: fixed costs would be $250,000 per year, and variable costs would be $500 per boat. Subcontracting would involve a cost per boat of $2,500, and expansion would require an annual fixed cost of $50,000 and a variable cost of $1,000 per boat.

Define each alternative Total Cost (TC) equation. Plot all alternatives TC equations on the same graph. Find the range of output for each alternative that would yield the lowest total cost.

Based on the graph in step a, Which alternative would yield the lowest total cost for an expected annual volume of 150 boats? Justify your answer based on the graph in step a.