Ocean and air freight calculators
Find the cubic meters (CBM) of an ocean shipment and how much of a container it fills, and work out the chargeable weight of an air shipment.
Volume rules for ocean and air
Ocean freight is measured in cubic meters. A full container is priced per box, and a shared (LCL) shipment is usually priced by its cubic meters or its weight, whichever the forwarder's rate uses.
Air freight is billed on chargeable weight: the actual weight or the volumetric weight, whichever is greater. The IATA standard divides the volume in cubic centimeters by 6,000 to get volumetric kilograms; some carriers divide by 5,000 instead.
Common questions
What is the difference between CBM and chargeable weight?
CBM is volume in cubic meters, used for ocean freight. Chargeable weight is the weight an air carrier bills: the actual weight or the volumetric weight, whichever is greater. 1 CBM is 166.7 volumetric kilograms at the IATA 6,000 divisor.