Which of the following is a component of inventory costs?

Carrying cost is the correct answer because it is a recognized major category of inventory cost. In maintenance and reliability environments, inventory cost is not just the purchase price of spare parts. It includes the cost of holding inventory: storage, capital tied up in stock, insurance, obsolescence, deterioration, shrinkage, handling, and administrative burden. Option A is not the best answer because labor cost may be associated with warehouse handling or procurement activity, but it is not the standard inventory-cost category being tested here. Option B is also too narrow. Space cost is one element that may be included within carrying or holding cost, but the higher-level category is carrying cost. In CRL’s WEM domain, materials and spare-parts management directly affects maintenance execution. Too little inventory causes delays and downtime; too much inventory ties up capital and creates waste. Inventory-management references commonly classify inventory costs into ordering costs, carrying/holding costs, and shortage or stockout costs, confirming carrying cost as the correct category.