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Types of Product Costs
Types of Product Costs
Types of Product Costs
of Product Costs
The costs that follow are the main costs incurred in the production process.
Direct labor costs are the costs of labor that can be directly traced to the production of a product. The
cost of wages for production workers is a direct labor cost for a manufacturing company.
Direct material are the raw materials that are directly used in producing the finished product. The costs
included in the direct material cost are all of the costs associated with acquiring the raw material: the
raw material itself, shipping‐in cost, and insurance during transit, among others. Common examples of
direct materials are plastic and components.
Manufacturing overhead costs are the company’s costs related to the production process that are not
direct material or direct labor but are necessary costs of production. Examples are indirect labor,
indirect materials, rework costs, electricity and other utilities, depreciation of plant equipment, and
factory rent.
Indirect labor is labor that is part of the overall production process but does not come into direct contact
with the product. A common example is labor cost for employees of the manufacturing equipment
maintenance department. Indirect labor is a manufacturing overhead cost.
Indirect material are materials that are not the main components of the finished goods. Examples are
glue, screws, nails, and other materials such as machine oils, lubricants, and miscellaneous supplies that
may not even be physically incorporated into the finished good. Indirect materials are a manufacturing
overhead cost.
Groupings of Product Costs
The five main types of product costs in the previous table can be further combined to create different
cost classifications.
Prime costs are the costs of direct material and direct labor. Direct material and direct labor are the
direct inputs, or the direct costs of manufacturing.
Manufacturing costs include the prime costs and manufacturing overhead applied. These are all of the
costs that need to be incurred in order to produce the product. Manufacturing costs do not include
selling or administrative costs, which are period costs.
Conversion costs include manufacturing overhead (both fixed and variable) and direct labor. Conversion
costs are the costs required to convert the direct materials into the final product.
Please note that Direct labor is both a prime cost and a conversion cost.