Short Ton - Wikipedia

Unit of mass

Short ton
The Wire Bridge in New Portland, Maine, United States, with a 3-ton gross weight limit. The short ton is primarily used in the US.
General information
Unit system	United States customary units
Unit of	Mass
In base units	2,000 lb
Conversions
1 short ton in ...	... is equal to ...
SI base units	907.18 kg
Metric tons	0.90718 t
Long tons	0.893 long tons

The short ton (abbreviation: tn[1] or st[2]), also known as the US ton,[3] is a measurement unit equal to 2,000 pounds (907.18 kg). It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton;[1] however, the term is ambiguous, the single word "ton" being variously used for short, long, and metric tons.

The various tons are defined as units of mass.[4] They are sometimes used as units of weight, the force exerted by a mass at standard gravity (e.g., short ton-force). One short ton exerts a weight at one standard gravity of 2,000 pound-force (lbf).

United States

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In the United States, a short ton is usually known simply as a "ton",[1] without distinguishing it from the tonne (1,000 kilograms or 2,204.62 pounds), known there as the "metric ton", or the long ton also known as the "imperial ton" (2,240 pounds or 1,016.05 kilograms). There are, however, some U.S. applications where unspecified tons normally mean long tons (for example, naval ships)[5] or metric tons (world grain production figures).[citation needed]

Both the long and short ton are defined as 20 hundredweights, but a hundredweight is 100 pounds (45.36 kg) in the US system (short or net hundredweight) and 112 pounds (50.80 kg) in the imperial system (long or gross hundredweight).[1]

A short ton–force is 2,000 pounds-force (8,896.44 N).

See also

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• Tonnage, volume measurement used in maritime shipping, originally based on 100 cubic feet (2.83168 m3).

References

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1. ^ a b c d "NIST Handbook 44 Specifications: Handbook 44 – 2023 Appendix C – General Tables of Units of Measurement" (PDF). November 18, 2022. p. C-7. Retrieved May 9, 2023. 20 hundredweights = 1 ton
2. ^ "What is a short ton vs long ton? – Sage-Answers". sage-answers.com. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
3. ^ AME (2018-04-03). "Ton vs Tonne, what's the difference? Which one is heavier?". Asset Management Engineers. Retrieved 2025-04-06.
4. ^ Butcher, Crown and Gentry, NIST Special Publication 1038, The International System of Units (SI) – Conversion Factors for General Use, 2006
5. ^ "Naval Architecture for All". United States Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Retrieved October 13, 2008.

v t e United States customary units
Comparison with imperial unit system
Length	Thousandth of an inch Inch Hand Link Foot Yard Rod Chain Furlong Mile Statute mile
Area	Square inch Square foot Square yard Acre Square mile
Volume	Derived Cubic inch Cubic foot Cubic yard Cubic mile Cooking Teaspoon Tablespoon Fluid ounce Cup Pint Quart Gallon Wood Board foot Cord Face cord Other Minim Gill Peck Bushel Barrel Acre-foot
Speed	Foot per second Miles per hour
Mass	Grain Dram Ounce Pound Hundredweight Ton Long Short
Force	Poundal Pound-force Kip
Pressure	Inch of mercury Pound per square inch Kilopound per square inch
Other units and measures	Bolt (cloth) British thermal unit Degree (angle) Fahrenheit Foot-candle Foot-lambert Foot-pound (energy) Horsepower Perm Pound-foot (torque) Spinning count Ton of refrigeration
Related systems	American wire gauge Avoirdupois system Body jewelry sizes English Engineering Units Foot–pound–second system of units