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Shipping & logistics

Freight, shipping & CBM

Freight is priced on space as much as weight. CBM (cubic metres) measures the volume your cargo occupies, and carriers charge on whichever is greater — actual weight or volumetric weight. Getting these right tells you how much you can ship and what each unit costs to move.

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Problems this solves

  • You need the total CBM of a shipment from carton dimensions.
  • You need the chargeable weight for an air or sea quote.
  • You want to know how many cartons fit a container.
  • You need freight cost per unit to fold into landed cost.

Questions you can ask Pilot

How many CBM is 300 cartons of 40 × 30 × 25 cm?
What is the chargeable weight of a 60 × 40 × 50 cm carton at 12 kg?
How many cartons fit in a 40-foot container?
What will air freight cost per unit at this rate?

How Pilot works this out

CBM is length × width × height in metres, or dimensions in centimetres divided by 1,000,000, multiplied by the number of cartons. Pilot returns both per-carton and total volume.

Chargeable weight compares actual weight against volumetric weight (dimensions divided by the carrier divisor — 6,000 is the air-freight standard) and takes the greater. Pilot shows both so you can see which one drives the price.

Container and per-unit figures build on these: total CBM against usable container volume gives an approximate carton count, and a freight rate over the shipment gives cost per unit.

The variables that matter

Carton dimensions
Length, width and height, consistently in centimetres.
Carton quantity
Number of identical cartons in the shipment.
Actual weight
Gross weight per carton in kilograms.
Volumetric divisor
6,000 for air freight; confirm your carrier’s divisor.

Worked examples

“300 cartons at 40 × 30 × 25 cm”

Each carton is 0.03 CBM, so the shipment is about 9 CBM — enough to judge LCL vs a shared container.

“60 × 40 × 50 cm carton at 12 kg (air)”

Volumetric weight is 20 kg against 12 kg actual, so the chargeable weight is 20 kg — volume wins.

Common mistakes

  • Mixing centimetres and metres in the same calculation.
  • Quoting on actual weight when volumetric weight is higher.
  • Assuming 100% container fill; usable volume is always less than nominal.

Limitations

  • • Real container fill depends on stacking, pallet patterns and weight limits.
  • • Carrier divisors and rounding rules vary — confirm with your forwarder.
  • • Irregular or mixed cartons need per-type calculation, not an average.

Verify before relying on this

  • • Confirm the volumetric divisor your carrier uses.
  • • Check container payload limits as well as volume.
  • • Validate carton dimensions against the packed reality, not the spec.

Official source categories

Your carrier / forwarder tariff — For divisors, rounding and container specs.
IATA volumetric standard — The 6,000 air-freight divisor convention.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between CBM and chargeable weight?

CBM is pure volume. Chargeable weight converts volume into a weight using the carrier divisor and compares it with actual weight; the carrier bills the larger of the two.

Which divisor should I use?

Air freight conventionally uses 6,000, but carriers differ. Pilot lets you set the divisor and confirms which one it applied.