Free freight tool
CBM & chargeable weight calculator
Enter your cartons and instantly see total volume, volumetric weight, and the chargeable weight for every transport mode.
Cargo items
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Total volume (CBM)
0
Total weight (kg)
0 pieces in total
Sea (LCL)0 kgvolume governs · 1:1,000
Air0 kgvolume governs · 1:167
Road0 kgvolume governs · 1:333
Express0 kgvolume governs · 1:200
How chargeable weight works
Freight is priced on whichever is greater: the actual weight of your cargo or its volumetric weight — the weight your volume is deemed to occupy. Light but bulky cargo pays by volume; dense cargo pays by the scale. The winner is called the chargeable weight.
Each mode uses a different equivalence: sea LCL counts 1 CBM as 1,000 kg (the W/M revenue ton), air freight uses the IATA 1:6,000 rule (about 167 kg per CBM), road groupage typically 1:3,000 (333 kg/CBM) and courier services 1:5,000 (200 kg/CBM).
Frequently asked questions
- What is CBM?
- CBM (cubic metre) is the standard unit of cargo volume in international freight. Each package's volume is length × width × height in metres; the sum across all packages is your total CBM, which drives LCL pricing and container planning.
- What is chargeable weight?
- The weight your freight is actually billed on: the greater of actual (gross) weight and volumetric weight. Carriers use it so a container of feathers doesn't travel for free — bulky cargo pays for the space it blocks.
- How is air volumetric weight calculated?
- IATA's standard divisor is 6,000: volume in cm³ divided by 6,000 gives the volumetric weight in kg — equivalent to about 167 kg per cubic metre. If that exceeds the actual weight, the airline bills the volumetric figure.
- How many containers does my cargo need?
- Divide total CBM by a container's usable capacity (roughly 85% of its published volume) and total weight by its max payload — the larger count wins. A 20' box holds about 28 usable CBM / 28 t; a 40' high-cube about 65 CBM / 26 t. For an exact answer, run the 3D load calculator.