Production Chains

Quick answer: Transport Fever 3 keeps the series' production-chain core — raw materials flow through several processing stages before reaching cities. The release-build mechanics are now documented in the official wiki: 36 cargo types across 32 industries, with production rules, boosters and per-industry ratios all published.

The four-stage chain

The cargo flow in Transport Fever 3 is structured in four stages, summarised from the official First Look footage by the community on TransportFever.net:

1. Source / extraction — mines, farms and forests produce raw materials
2. Processing — raw materials are turned into intermediate goods
3. Final processing — intermediate goods become end products
4. Urban consumers — cities buy the finished goods

This is the same shape as Transport Fever 2's chains. The simplest example is farms → food → settlements: farms produce crops, food processing turns them into food, and cities consume the finished food.

How production works (official wiki)

The official Industries & Cargo manual documents the release-build mechanics:

• Raw industries produce without input. Farms, mines and logging camps always produce some cargo without needing incoming cargo. Output is driven by plot count (fields, plantations, mine shafts).
• Processing industries need input stock. Saw mills, steel mills and breweries won't start until they have some cargo in their input stock.
• Expansion is demand-driven. A well-served industry expands by adding nearby plots; if the surrounding area is blocked or existing plots are bulldozed, production is limited or reduced.

Two ways to boost output

1. Workers booster — a passenger connection that reaches the industry raises overall throughput. It lapses when too few workers have recently been at the industry.
2. Raw-industry booster cargo — raw industries take a second booster route using one specific cargo (Fertilizer, Machines or Tools) drawn from the input stock; the effect halts once items run low.

What changes the chain

Officially confirmed on the First Look Episode 2 page:

• Warehousing — new storage and transshipment buildings let you buffer goods between stages
• Industry boosters — transporting workers and special goods to a factory increases its output
• Specialised loading facilities — dedicated loading infrastructure for certain cargo
• Full delivery-chain control — you assign specific cargo to each segment of a chain for the first time

Input, output and overflow

The industry window shows each input's and output's current count and cap. Produced items stay put until picked up by a suitable vehicle on a line configured to collect that cargo — the destination is always the player's choice. If nothing collects the output and the stock fills, production continues but the surplus is destroyed.

Example ratios (official wiki)

A few published per-cycle ratios from the official wiki. The full per-industry table is on the Industries page and the wiki itself.

Industry	Rule (per cycle)	Booster cargo
Brewery	8 Grain + 3 Glass → 8 Beverages	—
Steel Mill	6 Iron Ore + 6 Coal → 4 Sheet Metal + 3 Steel	—
Crop Farm	1–24 Grain; 1–16 Vegetables	Fertilizer
Saw Mill	4 Logs → 4 Sawdust + 8 Planks	—
Canning Factory	2 Fish or 2 Meat + 1 Sheet Metal → 2 Canned Food	—

Sources & Verification

Data point	Status	Source	Last verified
Four-stage chain	Community Extracted	TransportFever.net thread	2026-09-23
Warehousing, boosters, loading facilities	Official	First Look Episode 2	2026-09-23
Farms → food → settlements	Official	First Look Episode 2	2026-09-23
Production rule, plots, boosters, stocks, overflow	Official	Official Wiki — Industries & Cargo	2026-10-07
Per-industry ratios	Official	Official Wiki — Industries & Cargo	2026-10-07

Related: Industries · Cargo List · Vehicles List