Pultrusion & Continuous Composite Profiles worked example

Labor Per Foot at 58% direct-labor capture: a worked example

Suppose direct-labor capture falls to 58%. This page works the full calculation at that level so you can see exactly which result moves and by how much. Labor per foot tells a pultrusion shop what human effort actually costs on each linear foot of profile pulled off the line.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Linear feet pulled per run: 100 units (held at the documented default)
  • Loaded labor cost per foot: 45 $ / unit (held at the documented default)
  • Direct-labor capture (share of line labor charged to this profile): 58 % (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 80)
  • Fixed setup and die-prep charge per run: 250 $ (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Labor Per Foot cost = quantity × rate × capture factor + fixed cost.
  • Weighted cost works out to 2,860 $ at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Per piece value works out to 28.6 $ / piece at these inputs.
  • Captured value works out to 2,610 $ at these inputs.
  • Fixed adjustment works out to 250 $ at these inputs.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where direct-labor capture sits at 80% and the headline result is 3,850 $, this scenario comes in 25.71% below the baseline at 2,860 $.
  • It computes total labor cost for a pultrusion run and the resulting labor cost per linear foot by weighting the loaded labor rate against a capture factor and adding a fixed setup charge. When the numbers land here, the stressed input is the lever to work; the walkthrough above shows exactly how much each output recovers as it climbs back toward the baseline.

Results at a glance

  • Weighted cost: 2,860 $ (headline result)
  • Per piece value: 28.6 $ / piece
  • Captured value: 2,610 $
  • Fixed adjustment: 250 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live Labor Per Foot calculator, set direct-labor capture to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.