Hundredweight
Hundredweight (CWT) is a pricing unit in freight shipping equal to 100 pounds, used primarily in LTL and rail pricing to express cost per hundred pounds. A shipment weighing 1,200 pounds would be priced at 12 CWT times the applicable rate per hundredweight. CWT pricing is the traditional basis for LTL tariffs and is still used in most carrier rate schedules, freight class tables, and contract pricing agreements.
Why it matters
CWT is the denominator in traditional LTL pricing, which means every surcharge, discount, and minimum charge is ultimately expressed relative to it. Understanding CWT pricing is essential for comparing carrier quotes accurately, because two carriers quoting different CWT rates on the same freight class may have vastly different total costs once minimums, discounts, and surcharges are applied. CWT pricing also introduces reclassification risk: if a carrier reweighs your freight and the actual CWT differs from what was quoted, the rate changes retroactively.
When to use it
Use CWT as your cost comparison unit when evaluating traditional LTL carrier quotes, analyzing freight class tariffs, or benchmarking lane-level costs across carriers. CWT is particularly important when negotiating contract rates, because a carrier may offer an attractive CWT rate but set a high minimum charge that makes light shipments more expensive than they appear. Always calculate the total cost, not just the per-CWT rate, before selecting a carrier.
How Warp thinks about it
Warp does not use CWT pricing. The Warp model prices freight per pallet, not per hundred pounds. This eliminates the weight-based reclassification risk, minimum charge complexity, and freight class dependency that make CWT pricing difficult to forecast. For shippers accustomed to CWT pricing, the simplest comparison is to divide your current total LTL cost by pallets shipped to get your actual cost-per-pallet, then compare against Warp all-inclusive per-pallet rates.
Frequently asked questions about hundredweight
What is hundredweight?
Hundredweight (CWT) is a pricing unit in freight shipping equal to 100 pounds, used primarily in LTL and rail pricing to express cost per hundred pounds. A shipment weighing 1,200 pounds would be priced at 12 CWT times the applicable rate per hundredweight. CWT pricing is the traditional basis for LTL tariffs and is still used in most carrier rate schedules, freight class tables, and contract pricing agreements.
Why does hundredweight matter in freight?
CWT is the denominator in traditional LTL pricing, which means every surcharge, discount, and minimum charge is ultimately expressed relative to it. Understanding CWT pricing is essential for comparing carrier quotes accurately, because two carriers quoting different CWT rates on the same freight class may have vastly different total costs once minimums, discounts, and surcharges are applied. CWT pricing also introduces reclassification risk: if a carrier reweighs your freight and the actual CWT differs from what was quoted, the rate changes retroactively.
When should you use hundredweight?
Use CWT as your cost comparison unit when evaluating traditional LTL carrier quotes, analyzing freight class tariffs, or benchmarking lane-level costs across carriers. CWT is particularly important when negotiating contract rates, because a carrier may offer an attractive CWT rate but set a high minimum charge that makes light shipments more expensive than they appear. Always calculate the total cost, not just the per-CWT rate, before selecting a carrier.
How does Warp handle hundredweight?
Warp does not use CWT pricing. The Warp model prices freight per pallet, not per hundred pounds. This eliminates the weight-based reclassification risk, minimum charge complexity, and freight class dependency that make CWT pricing difficult to forecast. For shippers accustomed to CWT pricing, the simplest comparison is to divide your current total LTL cost by pallets shipped to get your actual cost-per-pallet, then compare against Warp all-inclusive per-pallet rates.