Volumetric Calculator for Shipments (CBM)

Freight is booked and priced by volume as well as weight: sea freight by the cubic metre, air and courier services by volumetric weight, and container choice by how much space the cargo fills. This calculator totals the volume of up to three carton sizes, converts it to cubic feet, and shows the volumetric weights and container space the shipment needs.

How to use this tool

1. Choose centimetres and kilograms or inches and pounds.
2. For each carton size, enter the length, width, height, quantity and the weight of one carton.
3. Leave unused lines blank.
4. Read the total CBM, the volumetric weights and the container table.

Formula

Volume (m³) = L × W × H (cm) ÷ 1,000,000 × Quantity

Volumetric weight (kg) = Volume (cm³) ÷ 6,000 for air, ÷ 5,000 for express

Freight tons (W/M) = the greater of m³ and metric tonnes

In inches, 1 in³ = 16.387064 cm³ and 1 ft³ = 0.0283168 m³. Container fill uses nominal internal volumes of about 33.2 m³ (20 ft), 67.7 m³ (40 ft) and 76.3 m³ (40 ft high cube); exact figures vary from box to box. Missing weights suppress complete shipment-weight and W/M results. Divisors are examples; carrier rounding and per-piece chargeable weights may differ.

Example

A shipment of 20 cartons of 60 × 40 × 40 cm at 12 kg each and 10 cartons of 50 × 30 × 30 cm at 8 kg each measures 1.92 m³ + 0.45 m³ = 2.37 m³, or 83.7 ft³, and weighs 320 kg. Using the illustrative air divisor gives 395 kg of volumetric weight; by sea it counts as 2.37 freight tons. The carton volume equals about 7% of the nominal 20 ft preset, excluding packing voids.