With 3.0 we will get cargo features
"One of the exciting new features coming online with Star Citizen ALpha 3.0 and beyond is the ability for ships to ferry cargo. This presents a world of opportunity for players to pilot ships beyond combat as we hope to provide interesting alternatives and very real ways for players to earn an honest (or perhaps dishonest…) day’s pay. Buying and selling commodities from stations and transporting them across civilized space to the people who need it most (or willing to pay the most for it) we hope will encourage many players to take up a career as a Transporter.
The Transporter playstyle comes with an entirely new way for players to consider which ships they want to fly. Cargo capacity becomes one of the most important considerations when judging which ship to use. Highest SCU capacities may seem like no-brainers when looking to pick the best cargo ship, but many of the larger vessels eschew defensive capabilities like thicker armor, more weapon mounts, or faster engines for that greater cargo space and can be left exposed as a result. Your decisions at this stage may ultimately lead to the great rewards, or even greater catastrophes.
Cargo ships come in all shapes and sizes, but consider which trade routes are available to you before deciding. A Hull-C can carry an impressive amount of freight but its defensive options are extremely limited. Hull pilots will need to employ fighter escorts or travel in convoy in hopes to deter would-be pirates from accosting them. Ships like the Caterpillar and Starfarer offer more defense and maneuverability at the cost of cargo space. If your trade route takes you to frontier worlds where fringers play fast and loose with the law, you’re going to be thankful you have something up your sleeves to make a ship-jacker think twice. Smaller ships like the Cutlass have a decent amount of SCU capacity for short runs but more importantly, the combat acumen to go toe-to-toe with aggressors and protect its precious cargo.
Knowing not only the amount of cargo that needs to be taken but the route that cargo will take should help a discerning pilot make the right choice about which transporter is right for them. Of course, the more “entrepreneurial” trader may also want to consider whether they need to avoid any… imperial entanglements.
As more and more legitimate trade routes expand across the systems, so too will the number of pirates looking take what isn’t theirs. Similarly, as new colonies start to become established and will need deliveries of restricted weapons to defend themselves against marauders, so too will back-alley dealers need a steady supply of illegal stims and narcotics. Whatever the story, willing Transporters are going to needed for smuggling cargo under the nose of law enforcement from time to time. We want to make sure that gameplay is involving, fun, and more than a little bit nerve-wracking. Smugglers have a range of techniques available to them to sneak their cargo by authorities, from simply not declaring it, through making specific goods appear to be something else, and right up to masking them completely so they won’t appear on scans at all. Judging a ship for its smuggling capabilities is another consideration when it comes to picking the right ship for the right job which we’ll cover below."
https://robertsspaceindustries.com/comm-link/engineering/16204-The-Shipyard-SCU-And-Cargo-Capacity