Heavy equipment now weighs what it should
Thirteen kinds of industrial equipment, from machinery and conveyor lines to tower cranes, marine engines and port equipment, are now as heavy as the machines they name. Freight for them costs accordingly, and the heaviest no longer fit the smaller aircraft.
A unit's weight is what freight is priced on: van loads, which hull it fits, and the fuel it burns. Thirteen kinds of industrial equipment were far lighter than the machines they name, so they shipped for a fraction of what they should. They now weigh what they should:
| Good | Was | Now | |---|---|---| | Machinery | 500 kg | 1,500 kg | | Conveyor Belts | 200 kg | 600 kg | | HVAC System | 200 kg | 500 kg | | Elevators | 2,000 kg | 4,000 kg | | Forklifts | 3,000 kg | 4,000 kg | | Cargo Container | 1,800 kg | 2,200 kg | | Aircraft Engine | 1,800 kg | 3,000 kg | | Combine Harvester | 9,000 kg | 13,000 kg | | Airport Ground Equipment | 5,000 kg | 12,000 kg | | Automated Drill Rig | 7,500 kg | 18,000 kg | | Tower Crane | 12,000 kg | 30,000 kg | | Marine Engine | 12,000 kg | 40,000 kg | | Port Cargo Equipment | 20,000 kg | 50,000 kg |
- Freight follows the weight. Road, air and sea quotes for these goods rise with it; storage does not change, since their volume is the same. - The heaviest fly only on heavy jets. A tower crane, a marine engine or port equipment now exceeds a medium jet's payload, so it travels by heavy jet, by sea or by road. - Materials are unchanged. Steel, glass, wiring, roofing and the other building materials already cost what their weight says they should per tonne, so they stay as they are.