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Carrying costs, also known as holding costs, refer specifically to the expenses associated with storing and maintaining inventory over a period of time. These costs can include a variety of expenses such as warehousing costs, insurance, depreciation, obsolescence, spoilage, and the opportunity cost of tied-up capital that could have been used elsewhere in the business.

When a company holds inventory, it incurs these costs continuously as long as the inventory remains unsold. Understanding carrying costs is crucial for effective inventory management, as high carrying costs can affect a company's profitability. By managing and minimizing these expenses, businesses can improve their cash flow and operational efficiency.

The other options, while relevant to inventory management in their own right, do not accurately represent carrying costs. Purchasing costs pertain to the procurement of inventory, ordering costs are related to the costs incurred during the order process, and costs associated with missing customer orders focus on lost sales and customer dissatisfaction rather than the ongoing costs of holding inventory.