Freight-Carrying Capacity

the weight of cargo that can be carried by a given means of transport (railroad car, motor vehicle, boat, airplane); the basic operational characteristic of a means of transport. For land transportation means (railroad car, motor vehicle) the calculated freight-carrying capacity is determined by the allowable load per rolling-stock axle and per one meter of the round. For ocean going vessels it is determined by the load line, and for vessels sailing on internal waters it is determined by normal or maximum draft.

The freight-carrying capacity of a railroad car with four axles is 62–65 tons; for an eight-axle car, 125 tons. The nominal freight-carrying capacity of various types of motor vehicles (for use on paved roads) ranges between 0.5 and 14 tons. For dump trucks the figure may reach 28 tons and more, and the special vehicles used in mines, at construction sites, and within plants may carry 40–100 tons or more. A distinction is made between full freight-carrying capacity for vessels, or deadweight, and net freight-carrying capacity, or the weight of the cargo itself. The freight-carrying capacity of maritime transport vessels used for the shipment of piece-type cargo and lumber depends on the routes traveled, destinations, and other conditions and may range from 100 to 25,000 tons. The freight-carrying capacity of large oceangoing tankers may reach 300,000 tons, and the figure for vessels sailing on internal waters may reach 7,000 tons (16,000 tons or more for composite vessels). Modern transport airplanes have a freight-carrying capacity that may range from 1.5 tons (An-2M) to 26 tons (11–62); the An-22 can transport up to 80 tons of cargo.