CWT stands for hundredweight, a unit of weight. In the United States one CWT (short hundredweight) equals 100 pounds. In freight, rates are often quoted per CWT — that is, per 100 pounds of shipment weight. The UK long hundredweight is 112 pounds, but US freight uses the 100-pound short CWT.

How many pounds are in a CWT?

One US CWT (short hundredweight) is 100 pounds. The UK long hundredweight is 112 pounds. To convert CWT to pounds multiply by 100; to convert pounds to CWT divide by 100. For example, 500 lb is 5 CWT.

How do I convert CWT to tons?

Divide CWT by 20. A US short ton is 2,000 pounds, which is 20 CWT, so one CWT equals 0.05 short tons. For example, 40 CWT is 2 tons. In kilograms, one US CWT is about 45.36 kg.

What does rate per CWT mean in freight?

A per-CWT rate is a price per 100 pounds of shipment weight. To find the freight cost, divide the billed weight by 100 and multiply by the CWT rate — subject to the carrier's absolute minimum charge. For example, 1,200 lb at $18.50 per CWT is 12 × $18.50 = $222, or the minimum charge if that is higher.

Is a hundredweight 100 or 112 pounds?

It depends on the system. The US short hundredweight is 100 pounds and is the one used in North American freight. The imperial or UK long hundredweight is 112 pounds. There is also a metric quintal of 100 kilograms. In US shipping, assume 100 pounds unless told otherwise.

What Is CWT (Hundredweight)?

CWT stands for hundredweight. In the US it means 100 pounds, and freight is often priced per CWT — that is, per 100 lb of shipment weight. So 1 CWT = 100 lb = 45.36 kg = 0.05 short tons. (The UK “long” hundredweight is 112 lb, but US shipping uses the 100 lb version.) Here are the conversions, how per-CWT pricing works, and the free calculator that does the math.

What CWT means

CWT is the abbreviation for hundredweight — the Roman numeral C for one hundred, plus wt for weight. In the United States, one hundredweight is 100 pounds (the “short” hundredweight). It’s a rating unit: rather than quote a rate per pound, carriers quote a rate per 100 lb, which keeps the numbers manageable for freight that routinely weighs hundreds or thousands of pounds.

In US freight, CWT always means 100 lb. If someone quotes “per CWT,” they mean per 100 pounds.

CWT conversions

The math is simple once you fix the unit. To go from CWT to pounds, multiply by 100; to go the other way, divide by 100. The rest follow from there:

Convert	How	Example
CWT → pounds (lb)	× 100	5 CWT = 500 lb
pounds (lb) → CWT	÷ 100	500 lb = 5 CWT
CWT → kilograms (kg)	× 45.36	5 CWT = 226.8 kg
CWT → US short tons	÷ 20	40 CWT = 2 tons
UK long CWT → pounds	× 112	1 long CWT = 112 lb

So “how many pounds in a CWT” is 100, and “hundredweight to tons” is just divide by 20 (because a 2,000 lb short ton is 20 × 100 lb). One CWT is about 45.36 kg.

How per-CWT freight pricing works

In North American LTL, a shipment is rated by its freight class and the distance, and the result is expressed as a rate per CWT (per 100 lb). The cost is:

Freight cost = (billed weight ÷ 100) × rate per CWT — or the minimum charge, whichever is greater.

For example, 1,200 lb at $18.50 per CWT is 12 × $18.50 = $222. If the carrier’s absolute minimum charge is higher than that, you pay the minimum instead. Because rates step down at higher weight breaks, it’s sometimes cheaper to bill a light shipment up to the next break — the CWT cost calculator checks that for you.

Short CWT vs long CWT (and the quintal)

Three things share the “hundredweight” name, so it’s worth keeping them straight. The US short hundredweight is 100 lb — the one used in American freight. The imperial (UK) long hundredweight is 112 lb, which also makes a UK long ton 2,240 lb (20 × 112). And the metric quintal is 100 kg. For any US shipping quote, assume the 100 lb short CWT unless the carrier states otherwise.