Costs in road transport of passengers and goods: study in a Santa Catarina company - DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.16930/2237-7662/rccc.v14n42p25-40

Abstract

At the same time road passenger and goods transport businesses face intermodal competition they operate under public concession with regulated tariffs, having to ameliorate their management to get the expected return on their investments. Information on costs can support decision making, helping to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The objective of this research is to present an approach to investigate the costs in a road passenger and goods transport company. This is a descriptive research based on a qualitative approach employing a single case study in a company in the state of Santa Catarina. Part of the expenses in this field is directly related to vehicles, however, due to the size of the company here studied and its strategic decisions there is a supporting structure with a significant amount of indirect costs and expenses, for the evaluation of which an Activity-Based Costing Method was employed. The company will be able to use the results of the study to make management decisions in order to achieve the return on capital employed targets and improvement of services, enhancing its competitive advantage and value for the end-user.