Ocean Freight Cost Calculator

Estimate ocean freight cost for LCL (per W/M) or FCL (per container) shipments, with surcharges, origin and destination charges and cargo insurance.

Shipment type LCL (shared container) FCL (full container)

Cargo volume (m³)

Gross weight (kg)

LCL ocean rate ($ per W/M)Per revenue ton: 1 m³ or 1,000 kg, whichever is greater

LCL minimum (W/M)

Container size (FCL)

Usable volume per container override (optional) (m3)Use your load-plan allowance, not a promise that all shapes will fit.

Payload per container override (optional) (kg)Use the actual container plate and route limit; blank uses an illustrative assumption.

Number of containers (FCL)Leave blank to estimate from volume and weight

FCL ocean rate ($ per container)

Other freight surcharges ($ total)BAF, peak season, security and similar, if not already in the rate

Origin charges ($ total)Pickup, export clearance, terminal handling, documents

Destination charges ($ total)Terminal handling, CFS/devanning, delivery, import clearance fees

Cargo value (optional) ($)For cargo insurance — leave 0 to skip

Insurance rate (% of insured value)

Ocean freight is priced in two ways. Less-than-container-load (LCL) shipments share a container and pay per revenue ton, or W/M: one cubic metre or 1,000 kg, whichever is greater. Full-container-load (FCL) shipments pay per container. Add quote charges and illustrative insurance to estimate the total and unit costs.

How to use this tool

Choose LCL or FCL and enter the cargo volume and gross weight.
Enter the ocean rate from your quote: per W/M for LCL or per container for FCL.
For FCL, pick the container size and leave the number blank to estimate it.
Add surcharges, origin and destination charges and, optionally, the cargo value and insurance rate.

Formula

LCL chargeable W/M = max(m³, kg ÷ 1,000, minimum)

Ocean freight = W/M × LCL rate, or containers × FCL rate

Insurance = 110% × (cargo value + freight + surcharges) × insurance rate

Total = freight + surcharges + origin + destination + insurance

Insurance here assumes 110% of cargo, freight and surcharges, excluding the premium itself; this is not a CIF contract-value coverage test. Container estimates assume about 28 m³ loadable in a 20 ft box, 58 m³ in a 40 ft and 68 m³ in a 40 ft high cube, with illustrative payloads of 28,000 kg and 26,500 kg. Override these from your actual equipment and route; aggregate volume/weight cannot prove geometric fit.

Example

An LCL shipment of 12 m³ weighing 3,000 kg is charged on volume, because 12 m³ is more than 3 revenue tons. At $70 per W/M the ocean freight is $840. Adding $150 of surcharges, $350 of origin and $450 of destination charges, plus 0.3% insurance on $40,000 of goods ($135.27 on an insured value of $45,089), the total is $1,925.27, or $160.44 per m³.

Frequently asked questions

When is FCL cheaper than LCL?

Compare full quotes at the same volume and weight. Fixed terminal fees, LCL minima, density and container-count steps mean dividing an all-in quote by volume is not a general break-even formula. Handling and packaging needs also affect the choice.

What does W/M mean in ocean freight?

Weight or measurement. The carrier charges on whichever is greater, the volume in cubic metres or the weight in metric tons, so 1 m³ and 1,000 kg each count as one revenue ton.

What are origin and destination charges?

Fees at each end of the sea leg: trucking to or from the port, terminal handling, container freight station fees for LCL, documents and customs brokerage. On small LCL shipments they can exceed the ocean freight itself.

Does this include import duty?

No. Duties and import taxes depend on the product’s tariff code and the destination country, so they are worked out separately.

Sources

Maersk — LCL weight/measurement terms

Last updated: 2026-10-30