Father figure's cost of transport (7)
I believe the answer is:
freight
'cost of transport' is the definition.
(freight can mean the cost of transporting goods)
'father figure's' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'fr' (abbreviation as in a priest's title).
'figure' becomes 'eight' (I've seen this before).
'fr'+'eight'='FREIGHT'
(Other definitions for freight that I've seen before include "Goods in transit" , "Something carried" , "Transport of bulk goods" , "Commercial transport" , "that's carried by rail and road" .)