be $270 ($1,080,000 ÷ 4,000 units). The following table shows the effect of spreading
Practical capacity, by contrast, is a stable measure. The use of practical capacity as the
denominator to calculate budgeted fixed manufacturing cost per unit avoids the recalculation
of unit costs when expected demand levels change, because the fixed cost rate is calculated
based on capacity available rather than capacity used to meet demand. Managers
who use reported unit costs in a mechanical way to set prices are less likely to promote a
downward demand spiral when they use practical capacity than when they use normal
capacity utilization or master-budget capacity utilization.