| Course | MT433 Global Supply Chain Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Landed cost comparison |
| Length | About 920 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT433 Unit 2
Lowest Mill Price, Last to Land: An MT433 Unit 2 Landed Cost Comparison of Three Towel Sources
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT433: Global Supply Chain Management
Unit 2 Landed Cost Comparison
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
Catawba Linen Supply, the mills and every quote are composite, as quoted on one date; tariff rates and fees are those in force on that date, the 2025 country surcharges in particular may change, and the sources cited are real.
Assumptions, Dated
Catawba Linen Supply, a composite Charlotte importer, asked three mills to quote one specification: a 100 percent cotton terry bath towel of 600 grams, cut to the same 27-by-54 size. All quotes and rates are as of one quote date.
Mill prices are free on board at each port of loading: $3.47 at Karachi from a Faisalabad mill, $3.38 at Mundra from a Gujarat mill and $3.94 at Izmir from a Denizli mill. A 40-foot high-cube container holds 22,000 towels. Ocean freight to Savannah is $4,650 a box from Karachi and $4,400 from Mundra, both routed around the Cape of Good Hope since Red Sea attacks pushed South Asian cargo away from Suez, and $3,900 from Izmir. Drayage from Savannah to Charlotte is $1,150 a box.
Duty is 9.1 percent under subheading 6302.60 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, for toilet linen of cotton terry toweling (U.S. International Trade Commission, 2025). It is charged on the transaction value, which for these quotes is the free-on-board price, because U.S. customs value excludes international freight and insurance. The merchandise processing fee is 0.3464 percent of value and the harbor maintenance fee 0.125 percent. The additional country surcharges the United States announced in 2025 are entered as recorded on the quote date: 19 percent for Pakistan, 50 percent for India and 15 percent for Turkey, also on value.
Carrying cost is 20 percent a year on the landed value, applied to days at sea and to extra safety stock. Transit from mill gate to Charlotte is 52 days from Faisalabad, 48 from Gujarat and 30 from Denizli. Safety stock adds 21 days of cover for the two South Asian sources and 14 for Turkey, since longer, less predictable lanes need more buffer.
Per-Towel Build: Faisalabad
The mill price is $3.47. Ocean freight adds $0.2114 and drayage $0.0523. Duty at 9.1 percent adds $0.3158 and the 19 percent surcharge $0.6593. Processing and harbor fees add $0.0120 and $0.0043. That gives $4.7251 before carrying. Carrying at sea adds $0.1346 and extra safety stock $0.0544. Landed cost is $4.91.
Per-Towel Build: Gujarat
The mill price is $3.38. Ocean adds $0.2000, drayage $0.0523, duty $0.3076 and the 50 percent surcharge $1.6900. Fees add $0.0159. Carrying adds $0.2135. Landed cost is $5.86.
Per-Towel Build: Denizli
The mill price is $3.94. Ocean adds $0.1773, drayage $0.0523, duty $0.3585 and the 15 percent surcharge $0.5910. Fees add $0.0185. Carrying adds $0.1239, the lowest of the three because Izmir is closest. Landed cost is $5.26.
The Ranking
Faisalabad lands first at $4.91, Denizli second at $5.26 and Gujarat last at $5.86. Gujarat's nine-cent advantage at the mill disappears many times over at the border.
Remove the surcharge row and Gujarat leads at $4.11; leave it in and Gujarat is last by 95 cents.
Which Row Decides It
Without the 2025 surcharges, landed costs would be $4.23 for Faisalabad, $4.11 for Gujarat and $4.66 for Denizli. Gujarat would lead by 12 cents. The surcharge row alone, 66 cents for Pakistan against $1.69 for India, moves Gujarat from first to last. Freight and carrying cost favor Denizli, but not by enough to offset its higher mill price.
Amiti et al. (2019) traced the 2018 tariffs through import prices and found that foreign sellers cut their prices very little, so U.S. buyers bore nearly the whole duty; a surcharge of this kind should be treated as falling on Catawba, not on the mill. That is why the comparison treats it as the importer's cost, not as a negotiable line.
Carrying Cost in Dollars
Transit is often stated in days and left there. Here it is worth about 19 cents a towel from Faisalabad and 21 from Gujarat, against 12 from Denizli. On 308,000 standard towels a year, the Faisalabad carrying cost is about $58,000. Ghemawat (2001) argued that distance shapes the cost of trade in ways a factory quote never shows, and stock at sea is one of them.
What the Table Leaves Out
The comparison prices every cost that appears on an invoice or can be computed from transit time. It leaves out three things that matter but resist a per-towel figure. Quality consistency differs between mills, and a higher defect rate would add returns and remakes. Payment terms differ: the Faisalabad mill asks for a letter of credit, which costs bank fees and ties up credit lines, while the Denizli mill accepts open account at 45 days. And the mills differ in minimum order size, which affects how often Catawba can reorder. These are noted for the risk assessment rather than forced into the table.
What the Comparison Shows
Faisalabad is the lowest landed cost under the rates in force on the quote date, but its lead rests partly on a surcharge that could change. If the Indian surcharge fell to the Pakistani 19 percent, Gujarat would land at about $4.77, 14 cents below Faisalabad, and the ranking would turn on service and reliability. The table should be rerun whenever a rate changes, and Unit 7 will weigh the risks behind each lane.
References
Amiti, M., Redding, S. J., & Weinstein, D. E. (2019). The impact of the 2018 tariffs on prices and welfare. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(4), 187-210. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.4.187
Ghemawat, P. (2001). Distance still matters: The hard reality of global expansion. Harvard Business Review, 79(8), 137-147.
U.S. International Trade Commission. (2025). Harmonized tariff schedule of the United States (2025 revision). https://hts.usitc.gov/
MT433 Unit 2 instructions, in plain terms
Unit 2 asks students to compare the total cost of bringing the same product from several countries to one destination. Instructors expect a per-unit table with a column for each source and the same rows in each: product price and its trade term, freight, inland transport, duty, fees, any additional tariffs and carrying cost for time in transit and safety stock. Every input should be dated and sourced, because rates change. Duty must be computed on the value the importing country uses, which in the United States excludes international freight. Carrying cost needs a dollar figure, not just days. The analysis should identify which row decides the ranking and what change would reverse it, rather than simply naming the cheapest source.
Inside the MT433 Unit 2 example
In the sample an assumptions section dates every input and explains the customs value basis. Each source then gets its own per-towel build, line by line, from the mill price to landed cost. A ranking follows, under a highlighted line on the surcharge row reversing the order. A section isolates that row, showing the ranking without it, and cites Amiti and colleagues on why the importer bears the surcharge. Carrying cost is expressed in dollars per towel and per year, with Ghemawat on distance. A section lists what the table leaves out: quality, payment terms and minimum orders. It ends on the Indian surcharge, the one change that would flip the result, and calls for the table to be rerun with each rate change.
Reading the MT433 Unit 2 grading rubric
Landed cost comparisons in this course earn credit for the build more than the answer. Ranking countries on factory quotes and adding a sentence about freight misses what is graded at this point. Rubrics usually test whether duty was computed on the value the importing country actually uses. A rate with no heading or date behind it reads as borrowed. Carrying cost is where many comparisons stay thin; transit in days with no dollars attached leaves part of the gap unexplained. Identifying the row that decides the ranking shows analysis. Noting what the table cannot capture shows judgment. A dated assumptions box and a single per-unit table with identical rows for every source let a grader audit each figure.
MT433 Unit 2 help: mistakes that cost points
The most frequent weak comparison stops at the mill prices and the freight quotes, so the duty and surcharge rows that decide this case never appear. Another common error charges duty on a value that includes ocean freight, which overstates duty for U.S. imports. Students often state transit times without converting them into money. Rates are commonly pulled from websites with no date or heading. Some tables use different rows for different countries, so the totals are not comparable. Before submitting, remove each row from your table one at a time and note whether the ranking changes. The row whose removal changes it is your main finding, and the paper should say so in a sentence of its own.
Get an MT433 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Which countries and mills does your Unit 2 case quote, at what price and on what trade term? Add the container size or order quantity along with the rubric. A first custom comparison costs nothing and arrives in 24-48h, with duty on the correct value, a dated surcharge row and the threshold that would change the winner. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT433 Unit 2 questions, answered
Why does a US landed cost comparison compute duty on the export price?
Because US customs value normally rests on transaction value, the price paid for the goods, with international freight and insurance left out. The European Union and many other importers value goods at their own border instead, so one tariff rate yields a larger duty there. A comparison mixing the two bases misstates the gap between countries, which is why the example names the basis it uses.
How should a comparison treat tariffs announced recently?
As a separate, dated row rather than folded into the base rate, alongside a column that removes it. Rates announced in 2025 shifted several times, and a reader should see the ranking at quote-date rates and the ranking without them. The example also finds the surcharge level at which the winner changes, which tells a buyer more than either column alone.
Where can I find a free MT433 Unit 2 sample paper?
This page holds the complete MT433 Unit 2 comparison, landing one towel from Faisalabad, Gujarat and Denizli in Charlotte, cost by cost.
What decides the ranking in the MT433 Unit 2 sample?
The 2025 country surcharges. Without them Gujarat lands first at $4.11; with them it lands last at $5.86, 95 cents above Faisalabad.
How much does carrying cost add in the MT433 Unit 2 sample?
About 19 cents a towel from Faisalabad, 21 from Gujarat and 12 from Denizli, several times the spread in ocean freight between the three lanes.