Rajakustannus

Rajakustannus is a term used in Finnish-language economics and business literature to describe the incremental cost associated with moving goods across a national border in international trade and cross-border supply chains. The concept aggregates various border-related expenses that do not arise in purely domestic transactions, such as customs duties, border formalities, paperwork, compliance costs, currency risk, and potential delays. It is distinct from internal transportation costs and from tariffs alone, providing a broader measure of the marginal cost imposed by boundary crossing.

Definition and calculation. Rajakustannus per unit is the additional cost incurred to ship a good across a border compared with producing and selling it domestically. In practice, analysts sum border-specific components—customs clearance, documentation, inspection-related delays, and any local compliance requirements—and allocate them to the relevant unit of output.

Applications. The concept is used to evaluate cross-border production and sourcing decisions, such as nearshoring versus offshoring, and to assess the impact of regional trade agreements on competitiveness. It also supports models of supply chain resilience by highlighting how border frictions contribute to total cost and lead times.

Limitations. Measuring rajakustannus can be challenging due to attribution across multiple cost centers, variability in border regimes, and changing policy environments. The figure is sensitive to currency movements, logistics efficiency, and regulatory differences between jurisdictions.

See also. Border effect, customs clearance, tariffs, transaction costs, international logistics.