Contract Manufacturing, Job Shop Quoting & Make-to-Order calculator
Rush Order Cost Calculator
A rush order adds cost beyond the normal schedule, and the charge you pass on rarely covers all of it. Enter the units, the incremental cost per unit, the share you bill and any fixed coordination cost.
What this calculator does
- The full cost of a rush order, split into the share charged to the customer and the share the shop absorbs.
Formula used
- Variable rush cost = rush order units × incremental rush cost per unit
- Recovered rush cost = variable rush cost × share charged to the customer
- Total rush cost = variable rush cost + fixed expedite coordination cost
- Absorbed rush cost = total rush cost − recovered rush cost
- Total rush cost per unit = total rush cost ÷ rush order units
Inputs explained
- Rush Order Units Affected: Units on the rush order that carry expedite work and extra cost.
- Incremental Rush Cost per Unit: Added labor, freight and overtime per rush unit, from job records.
- Rush Scope Charged to Customer: Share of the incremental rush cost you can bill the customer.
- Fixed Expedite Coordination Cost: Planner, scheduling and freight coordination effort the rush triggers.
How to use the result
- Best suited to quoting an expedite surcharge, reviewing absorbed rush cost by month, deciding whether a late order is worth rushing.
- A charge share above 100% assumes the customer accepts a surcharge, not a cost pass-through. Schedule disruption to other orders is not in the incremental cost per unit.
Current U.S. benchmarks
- The U.S. prime lending rate is 7.00% (Federal Reserve via FRED, 2026-10-02). Payback and financing math should start from today's rate, not a remembered one.
Common questions
- Is rush cost the same as overtime? Overtime is one part. The incremental cost per unit can also carry premium freight, extra setups, expedited material and the schedule disruption a rush leaves on other orders.
- Should the customer pay the coordination cost? It is a real cost of the rush, so quote it as a separate expedite fee. The charge share here covers the incremental cost only, which is why it stays absorbed.
- What if the customer disputes the surcharge? Show the split: the incremental cost, the coordination effort and the disruption behind it. A cost backed by job records is easier to defend than a flat percentage.
- Why can the charge share exceed 100%? A share above 100% prices the expedite as a fee with margin, not a plain cost pass-through. Check the customer contract before assuming a markup is allowed.
Last reviewed 2026-10-01.