Revenue Ton

Revenue Ton (R/T) in International Trade

Meaning of Revenue Ton (R/T), according to the Dictionary of International Trade (Global Negotiator): A unit measure used in marine transport to compare the volume and weight of a shipment. Freight rates are usually expressed in terms of cost per revenue ton. There are three different formulas in general use for determining the total number of revenue tons in a given shipment when the freight is calculated on a weight or measurement basis:

The greater of the total number of cubic meters versus the total number of metric tons;

The greater of total cubic feet/40 versus the total gross weight in pounds/2.000;

The greater of total cubic feet/40 versus the total gross weight in pounds/2.234.

Occasionally, carriers assign a per-unit freight cost to a particular type of cargo, for instance, locomotives up to “x tons” and “y cubic meters” might pay a fixed amount of money per locomotive. As there are different formulas that produce different results, it is important that the carrier and the party contracting for carriage clearly understand which one applies.