Tonnes to Kilograms

Freight, vehicle weights, harvests and emissions are quoted in tonnes. The tonne on this page is the metric one, symbol t, exactly 1000 kilograms. It is not the only unit called a ton: in the United States it goes by metric ton to keep it apart from the short ton of 2000 pounds, and there is also a long ton of 2240 pounds. The word alone does not tell you which one a figure means.

How it is calculated

kg = t × 1000

The tonne is one of the non-SI units accepted for use with the SI, defined as 10³ kilograms. The factor is exact, so the conversion only moves the decimal point three places. The short and long tons are built from the pound instead, which is why they land on awkward numbers.

Source: NIST SP 811 (2008), Appendix B.8 — ton, metric (t) to kilogram (kg) = 1.0 E+03

Common values

Questions people ask

Is a metric ton the same as a tonne?

Yes. They are two names for one unit of exactly 1000 kilograms. NIST lists the tonne as the unit called metric ton in the U.S., and the symbol is a lowercase t under either name.

How does a tonne compare with a short ton and a long ton?

A short ton is 2000 pounds, which is 907.18474 kilograms, about 9 % less than a tonne. A long ton is 2240 pounds, which is 1016.0469088 kilograms, about 1.6 % more. Both follow exactly from the pound of 0.45359237 kg, so a figure given only in tons needs its origin checked before it is converted.

Is mt the right abbreviation for a metric ton?

Not in SI usage. The symbol is t, and SI prefixes attach to it: a kt, or kilometric ton, is 1000 tonnes. Read strictly, mt would be a millimetric ton, a thousandth of a tonne, which is one kilogram. NIST notes that submultiples like that are not in common use.

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