Hi there,
You've two components, lift (and drop) and the starship voyage.
I quote from an article on my own webpage, which needs editting as data has shown that 3 tons per cubic meter is way too dense and that most shipped goods have a density of roughly 0.3 tons per m3.
"Well, although it probably only really matters to me, I thought I’d do a thought exercise with 2300AD trade. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be dealing with a simplified economy of 2 planets, how are 8 virtual light years (i.e. including insystem travel) apart. Both have 10 million populations and PC GDP of 5,000 livre. Both have exactly 1G of gravity. Trade is balanced.
Unfortunately, the authors never intended 2300AD characters to own ships (AG: 61), and so never gave total and complete running costs for ships, but did give us ticket prices. Since profits aren’t going to be that large, I’ve just used ticket prices.
Thus, all figures are from page 21, the 2300AD Adventurers Guide (AG: 21).
The High Cost of Shipping
To ship simple bulks like ore, the planets use a catapult/ dead fall system to and from orbit (Lv990 per ton). Manufactured and bulk agricultural goods use shuttles (Lv 3,300 per ton), while luxury goods use spaceplanes (Lv 4,950 per ton). Each person travelling between the two planets also pays Lv 4,950 to and from orbit. There is no beanstalk.
The cost of hauling ore from one planet to the other is Lv24 per ton. Manufactured and bulk agricultural goods Lv40 per ton, and luxury goods Lv160 per ton. Passenger accommodations are Lv800 for a 2nd class ticket, and Lv4,000 for 1st class. A 3rd class "steerage" ticket (live in the cargo hold) is Lv400.
Totalling lift and haulage costs, and giving a quick dollar conversion:
Ore: Lv1,014 per ton ($4563)
Manufactured Goods: Lv3,340 per ton ($15,030)
Luxury Goods: Lv5,110 per ton ($22,995)
1st class ticket: Lv8,950 per person ($40,275)
2nd class ticket: Lv5,750 per person ($25,875)
3rd class ticket: Lv5,350 per person ($24,075)
As a comparison, modern wet-trade costs around $12 per ton shipped half way round the world, while modern air-freight is around $5,000 per ton. Bulk ore shipment cost about the same as modern airfreight, other goods, and people, a lot more. In fact, a 50-fold increase in travel costs for people has occurred against modern air-travel. "
Quoted from my own page at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/9292/2300/Trade2k3.htm
Bryn
