Carmel Fisheries, Inc. Carmel Fisheries operates both a fleet of fishing boats and a cannery. All fish brought in by the company’s fleet are processed at its own cannery, and its cannery processes no other fish. If the fleet is operated at full capacity, then input to the cannery follows the annual pattern pictured below:
That is, full-time fishing yields 3600 tons per month during the first third of the year, 4800 tons per month during the middle third, and only 600 tons per month during the final third. The cannery operates at the same continuous throughput rate all year long. Fish that cannot be immediately processed in the cannery are placed in a freezer, where they are held for later processing. Fish that go unharvested due to lack of freezer space are assumed to be lost forever.
What freezer buffer capacity is required if the cannery operates at 3000 tons per month throughout the year? What is the average inventory level in the freezer? On average, how long will a fish wait in the freezer before being processed?