Based on the industry$-$low, industry$-$average, and industry$-$high values for the benchmarking data on pp$.6-7$ of each issue of the FIR, which one of the following is the most valid signal that one or more elements of a company's costs are too high relative to those of rival companies?

The company's total compensation package for production workers is about $$2,000$ above the industry$-$average benchark in those geographic regions where the company has production operations

The company's operating profit per branded pair sold is $$0\mathrm{.}50$ above the industry$-$average benchmark in the Asia$-$Pacific region

The company's marketing expenses per branded pair sold are above the industry$-$average in the Latin America region The company's distribution and warehouse expenses per branded pair sold in North America are only $$1\mathrm{.}20$ below the industry$-$average benchmark

The company's worker productivity is about $350$ pairs$/$worker$/$year below the industry$-$average in the Asia$-$Pacific region