How to calculate cargo volume?

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The cubic capacity of a cargo, also known as volumetric weight, is an important characteristic during transportation and storage. Calculating this indicator allows you to:

predict the cost of a transport operation;
optimize the use of space;
select the correct packaging for transportation.
It can also be useful in a number of other cases. The standard formula for calculating the volumetric weight of a shipment is:

L x W x H (in centimeters) / 5000

However, international shipping is full of nuances that we want to share in this article. For example, some companies, like DHL, use a 4000 divisor (but only for shipping within England).

It is equally important (in our opinion) to tell in which cases you will need to calculate the volumetric weight of the cargo and what nuances should be taken into account so that logistics operations are as efficient as possible.

Where and why is this parameter used? One can't help but recall a children's riddle: "What is heavier: a kilogram of stones or a kilogram of fluff?" Carriers are guided by approximately the same logic. After all, the volume of the cargo compartment is limited, and charging for weight, given large volumes, is not economically advantageous.


Therefore, to increase profitability, the cubic capacity indicator is used. It allows on page seo service for the correct use of useful volume and the establishment of a fair cost of services.




Volumetric weight is a standard indicator, approved in global practice, which reflects density, is compared with the actual weight and allows one to obtain the calculated value of the occupied useful space.

As a rule, the calculation of the volumetric weight of cargo is used for air or land automobile transportation. Since when organizing sea delivery, the freight system is used - payment for a container. Only in some cases, sea carriers also use the calculation by cubic meters.

It is also important to take into account that each type of transport has its own correction factors, calculated based on cost and cargo capacity.

In various documents or calculators from the carrier, you may come across the terms "volumetric", "actual" and "paid" weight. The fact is that the larger figure is always taken as the basis.

How to calculate the cubic capacity of cargo
Step 1: Measurement

You will need to measure the length, width and height of each item. The metric system is used for this, as it is generally accepted that the result should be in centimeters.

Important! The numbers are always rounded up. If your product is 144.5 cm long, round it up to 145 cm for subsequent calculations. Determine the product parameters strictly in the packaging.

For example, our task is to send 5 microwaves by air. We find the parameters of one of them:
length - 53.5 cm = 54 cm
height - 44 cm
width - 29 cm

Step 2: Calculate the volume of each element

Once the measurements are obtained, we calculate the volume of each item of cargo by multiplying the length by the width by the height. Then we add all the volumes together to get the total volume.

V = 54 x 44 x 29 = 68,904 — convert centimeters to meters and get 0.0689 m3.
Total volume (in our example there are 5 boxes) — 0.3445 m3.

Step 3: Apply the coefficient

0.3445 m3 x 167 = 57 kg.

Step 4: Compare volumetric and actual weight

One microwave oven together with the box weighs 9 kg, total 9 x 5 = 45 kg. That is, in the end, the carrier will rate your shipment as a load of 57 kg. In this example, the difference is relatively small, but when we are talking about tons of goods, these figures can be shocking.

Important! In the example, we calculated the cubic capacity with a transport correction factor, however, as mentioned above, there is another calculation method with a divisor by 5000. In this case, we would get:

54 x 44 x 29 = 68,904/5000 = 13.7 (14 kg) * 5 pieces = 70 kg.

The choice of method depends on the country of dispatch/receipt, type of transportation, and other agreements between the manufacturer and the logistics company.

What else is important to know
The cargo may not always be simple geometric shapes such as parallelepipeds or cylinders. Therefore, when calculating the cubic capacity, take into account that some elements may be packed together or have gaps between them. In some cases, such as when packing cargo in a container, space is left between items to prevent damage during transportation. Measure the dimensions of these gaps and add them to the total volume of the cargo.