Source: adapted from W.J. Bernstein (2008) A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, p. 327.

Break-Even Distance between Sail and Steam, 1850-1890

One of the main technical drawbacks of a steamship was the requirement of carrying coal in storage, which was done at the expense of the regular payload. As steam engine technology improved (better boiler and piston systems), more power could be generated by the same quantity of coal, implying that longer distances could be traveled. Thus, the break-even distance between sail and steam steadily improved from the 1850s. By the 1860s, transatlantic steamship services became cost effective. By the 1870s, particularly in conjunction with the opening of the Suez Canal (1869), South Asia became economically accessible. By the 1890s, steamship technology improved to enable long distance voyages such as linking Great Britain with its Pacific Asian colonies (e.g. Singapore and Hong Kong). This marked the downfall of sailing as a commercially viable form of freight transportation.

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