| Standard: | Imperial units, United States customary units |
| Quantity: | Mass |
| Symbol: | long ton |
| Extralabel: | In base units |
| Extradata: | 1LT |
| Units1: | SI base units |
| Inunits1: | 1sigfig=7NaNsigfig=7 |
| Units2: | Metric tons |
| Inunits2: | 1sigfig=7NaNsigfig=7 |
| Units3: | Short tons |
| Inunits3: | 1sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3 (exactly) |
The long ton,[1] also known as the imperial ton or displacement ton,[1] [2] is a measurement unit equal to 2,240 pounds (1,016.0 kg). It is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois system of weights or Imperial system of measurements. It was standardised in the 13th century. It is used in the United States for bulk commodities.
It is not to be confused with the short ton, a unit of weight equal to 20001NaN1 used in the United States, and Canada before metrication, also referred to simply as a "ton".
A long ton is defined as exactly 2,240 pounds. The long ton arises from the traditional British measurement system: A long ton is 20 long hundredweight (cwt), each of which is 8 stone Thus, a long ton is
A long ton, also called the weight ton (W/T),[1] imperial ton, or displacement ton, is equal to:
To comply with the practices of the European Union, the British Imperial ton was explicitly excluded from use for trade by the United Kingdom's Weights and Measures Act of 1985.[3] [4] The measure used since then is the metric ton of 1000 kilograms, identified through the word "tonne".
If still used for measurement, then the word "ton" is taken to refer to an imperial or long ton.[5]
In the United States, the long ton is commonly used in measuring the displacement of ships and the shipping of baled commodities[1] and bulk goods like iron ore and elemental sulfur.
The long ton was the unit prescribed for warships by the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922; for example, battleships were limited to a displacement of 35000LT.The long ton is traditionally used as the unit of weight in international contracts for many bulk goods and commodities.