carrying charge

American  

noun

1. a charge made for carrying an account, usually computed as a percentage of the principal owed.

2. cost incurred while an asset is unproductive.

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carrying charge British  

noun

1. the opportunity cost of unproductive assets, such as goods stored in a warehouse

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carrying charge Idioms  

1. Interest charged on the balance owed when paying on an installment plan, as in What is the carrying charge for this credit card? The term denotes the amount charged for carrying the remaining debt. [Late 1800s]

2. The cost incurred when an asset is unproductive, as when aircraft are grounded during a strike, real estate cannot be developed owing to zoning laws, or similar circumstances. For example, The carrying charge for owning this building may send us into bankruptcy .

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Etymology

Origin of carrying charge

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

Example Sentences

Using this program, New York City Builder S. J. Lefrak is putting up a cooperative development in Brooklyn's Sheepshead Bay district with a monthly carrying charge averaging $21 a room.

From Time Magazine Archive

In one case a New England contractor was required to pay mill costs plus a "phantom" rail carrying charge on a 400-mi. haul, although the mill was only 72 mi. away.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ferreting correspondents learned that a down payment of $5,000 will be made on each German locomotive, successive payments to be on the instalment plan with a carrying charge of 6%.

From Time Magazine Archive

Thirty cents an acre is apparently about the maximum annual carrying charge which will permit a 6 per cent profit, even with very high stumpage prices.

From Practical Forestry in the Pacific Northwest Protecting Existing Forests and Growing New Ones, from the Standpoint of the Public and That of the Lumberman, with an Outline of Technical Methods by Allen, Edward Tyson

The presumably greater value of the latter may be consumed by the heavier carrying charge before returns are available.

From Practical Forestry in the Pacific Northwest Protecting Existing Forests and Growing New Ones, from the Standpoint of the Public and That of the Lumberman, with an Outline of Technical Methods by Allen, Edward Tyson