What is the difference between a short and long hundredweight?

The short hundredweight (US) is exactly 100 pounds. The long hundredweight (British) is exactly 112 pounds. The long hundredweight is 12 percent heavier, a difference of 12 pounds or about 5.4 kilograms.

Why do two different hundredweights exist?

The British long hundredweight of 112 pounds derives from the medieval practice of 8 stone (8 x 14 = 112). Americans simplified this to 100 pounds for cleaner arithmetic. Neither country adopted the other's version, creating a permanent transatlantic measurement discrepancy.

How do I convert short hundredweights to long hundredweights?

Multiply short hundredweights by 0.8929 (or equivalently, divide by 1.12). For example, 10 short hundredweights equals about 8.93 long hundredweights.

Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK) (cwt to cwt) Converter

1 cwt = 0.8929 cwt

1 Hundredweight (US) equals 0.8929 Hundredweights (UK) (1 cwt = 0.8929 cwt). Convert Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK) with formula, table, and examples.

One short hundredweight equals approximately 0.8929 long hundredweights, or equivalently, one long hundredweight equals about 1.12 short hundredweights. The difference is straightforward: the American short hundredweight is 100 pounds while the British long hundredweight is 112 pounds, a 12-pound gap that has complicated transatlantic commodity trade for centuries.

How to Convert Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK)

cwt = cwt × 0.8928571429

Multiply the value in Hundredweights (US) by 0.8928571429

Take your value in Hundredweights (US)
Multiply by 0.8928571429
Read the result in Hundredweights (UK)

Common Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK) Conversions

Hundredweights (US) (cwt)	Hundredweights (UK) (cwt)	Status
0.5 cwt	0.446429 cwt
1 cwt	0.892857 cwt
2 cwt	1.785714 cwt
5 cwt	4.464286 cwt
10 cwt	8.928571 cwt
20 cwt	17.857143 cwt
25 cwt	22.321429 cwt
50 cwt	44.642857 cwt
100 cwt	89.285714 cwt
200 cwt	178.571429 cwt
500 cwt	446.428571 cwt
1,000 cwt	892.857143 cwt

Good to Know About Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK) Conversion

The short-to-long hundredweight conversion captures one of the most stubborn measurement disagreements in commercial history. For over two centuries, American and British merchants used the same word 'hundredweight' to mean two different things, creating confusion that persisted until the metric ton finally provided a neutral alternative that neither side could claim as their own.

Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK): What You Need to Know

Historical trade records between the United States and the British Empire frequently require this conversion. A cargo manifest listing '50 hundredweights' of cotton means very different quantities depending on which side of the Atlantic wrote it. British colonial trade statistics in long hundredweights must be converted to short hundredweights for comparison with American production data, and vice versa.

What is a Hundredweight (US)? cwt

A US hundredweight (short hundredweight or cental) is exactly 100 pounds or 45.359237 kilograms. Used in US agriculture and commodities trading.

Imperial US agriculture commodities trading livestock

Learn more about Hundredweight (US) →

What is a Hundredweight (UK)? cwt

A UK hundredweight (long hundredweight) is exactly 112 pounds or 50.80234544 kilograms. Used in British agriculture and traditional commerce.

Imperial UK agriculture traditional British commerce

Learn more about Hundredweight (UK) →

Going the other way? Use our Hundredweights (UK) to Hundredweights (US) converter.

Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK) FAQ

The short hundredweight (US) is exactly 100 pounds. The long hundredweight (British) is exactly 112 pounds. The long hundredweight is 12 percent heavier, a difference of 12 pounds or about 5.4 kilograms.
The British long hundredweight of 112 pounds derives from the medieval practice of 8 stone (8 x 14 = 112). Americans simplified this to 100 pounds for cleaner arithmetic. Neither country adopted the other's version, creating a permanent transatlantic measurement discrepancy.
Multiply short hundredweights by 0.8929 (or equivalently, divide by 1.12). For example, 10 short hundredweights equals about 8.93 long hundredweights.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Hundredweights (US) to Hundredweights (UK)

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

Yes. Before standard international contracts specified which hundredweight was intended, the 12 percent difference caused billing disputes, cargo shortages, and general irritation between American and British merchants. A contract for '1,000 hundredweights' of goods could differ by 12,000 pounds (about 5,443 kilograms) depending on interpretation, which is an expensive misunderstanding.
The short hundredweight wins on honesty: it is called a 'hundredweight' and it weighs a hundred pounds. The long hundredweight is called a 'hundredweight' but weighs 112 pounds, which by any standard is not a hundred. The British would argue that 'hundredweight' refers to the long hundred (112), but the Americans have the dictionary on their side.
You do not lose any apples. You have the same physical quantity regardless of which hundredweight system you use. However, if you bought '1 hundredweight' in New York (100 lbs) and tried to deliver '1 hundredweight' in London (where they expect 112 lbs), you would be 12 pounds short and owe the buyer an additional bag of apples.