Problem - Sell or Process Further
(Prepared from a situation suggested by Professor John W. Hardy.) Lone Star Meat Packers is a major processor of beef and other meat products. The company has a large amount of T-bone steak on hand, and it is trying to decide whether to sell the T-bone steaks as they are initially cut or to process them further into filet mignon and the New York cut.
If the T-bone steaks are sold as initially cut, the company figures that a 1-pound T-bone steak would yield the following profit:
Selling price ($2.10 per pound) - $2.10
Less joint costs incurred up to the split-off point where T-bone steak can be identified as a separate product - 1.60
Profit per pound - $0.50
As mentioned above, instead of being sold as initially cut, the T-bone steaks could be further processed into filet mignon and New York cut steaks. Cutting one side of a T-bone steak provides the filet mignon, and cutting the other side provides the New York cut. One 16-ounce T-bone steak cut in this way will yield one 6-ounce filet mignon and one 8-ounce New York cut; the remaining ounces are waste. The cost of processing the T-bone steaks into these cuts is $0.12 per pound. The filet mignon can be sold for $3.60 per pound, and the New York cut can be sold for $3.60 per pound.
Required:
1. Determine the profit per pound from processing the T-bone steaks into filet mignon and New York cut steaks. (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answers to 2 decimal places.)
2. Would you recommend that the T-bone steaks be sold as initially cut or processed further?
- T-bone steaks should be processed further.
- T-bone steaks should be sold as initially cut.