The volume of your packages in cubic metres, line by line, with cubic feet and the chargeable weight if you need it.
Total volume
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Enter the dimensions of at least one package to see the volume.
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CBM stands for cubic metre: 1 CBM is 1 m³, the volume of a cube with 1 metre sides. Enter the dimensions and number of packages for each line of your packing list, in whatever unit you have them in. You get the volume of each line and the total in cubic metres and cubic feet, with every step shown. Add the package weights and your carrier's weight-to-volume ratio or divisor to see the chargeable weight too.
Pick the unit of the dimensions (millimetres, centimetres, metres, inches or feet) and of the weight (kilograms or pounds), as they appear on your packing list or the supplier's specification. Inches, feet and pounds are converted with their legal values: 1 inch = 2.54 cm, 1 foot = 30.48 cm and 1 pound = 0.45359237 kg, exactly.
For each type of carton, crate or pallet, enter the overall length, width and height, then how many identical packages there are. Measure each package as it will ship, packaging and pallet included. A line left half done is not counted, and the calculator tells you so; you can enter up to 50 lines.
The gross weight of a package is optional. Enter it on every line to get the total weight of the shipment and its density, in kilograms per cubic metre.
If your carrier’s tariff compares weight with volume, enter its weight-to-volume ratio in kg per m³, or its divisor in cm³ per kg, as the tariff or quote states it. You then get the volumetric weight (volume × ratio, or volume in cm³ ÷ divisor), the chargeable weight (the greater of the actual and the volumetric weight) and the chargeable volume. No ratio is filled in for you: your carrier’s is the one that counts, along with any rounding rule of its own.
For trade in England, Wales and Scotland, quote the volume in m³ and the weight in kg. Cubic feet, inches and pounds may be added only as a supplementary indication: the metric figure must be the more prominent, and the imperial one in characters no larger (Weights and Measures Act 1985, section 8). Northern Ireland has its own Weights and Measures (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, which this page does not cover.
Each figure is rounded once, from the exact values: volumes to 0.001 m³, weights and density to 0.01, with halves rounded up. Copy the workings, export the list as a CSV file or save it to Priostack. Your lines stay on this device until you clear them.
Volume of one package (m³) = length (m) × width (m) × height (m)
Volume of a line = package volume × number of packages; total volume = sum of the lines
From centimetres: m³ = L × W × H ÷ 1,000,000; from millimetres: ÷ 1,000,000,000; from inches: L × W × H × 0.000016387064
Cubic feet = m³ ÷ 0.028316846592
Volumetric weight = total volume × carrier’s ratio (kg/m³), or volume in cm³ ÷ carrier’s divisor (cm³/kg); chargeable weight = the greater of the actual and the volumetric weight
Each carton is 0.508 × 0.381 × 0.254 m ≈ 0.049161 m³ (3,000 cubic inches), so the four take 0.197 m³, or 6.94 cubic feet. They weigh 4 × 22 lb = 88 lb, which is 39.92 kg. If your forwarder counts 1 m³ as 1,000 kg, the volumetric weight is 196.64 kg, well above the actual weight, so the shipment is charged on its volume: 0.197 m³.
Multiply the length, width and height in centimetres and divide by 1,000,000. A 60 × 40 × 40 cm carton is 96,000 cm³, or 0.096 m³. Then multiply by the number of identical cartons.
One cubic metre: a cube with 1 m sides, which is 1,000 litres or about 35.31 cubic feet. A sea freight groupage quote may be priced 'W/M' (weight or measurement): each unit charged is a tonne or a cubic metre, whichever is greater. Enter 1,000 as the ratio, and the chargeable volume gives the number of units charged.
Half a cubic metre: a cube with sides of about 79 cm, or a 120 × 80 cm pallet loaded to about 52 cm high (1.2 × 0.8 × 0.52 = 0.4992 m³).
Choose inches as the unit. Each dimension is converted with 1 inch = 0.0254 m exactly. A 20 × 15 × 10 inch carton is 3,000 cubic inches, which is exactly 0.049161192 m³, or 1.74 cubic feet.
Enter that number as the divisor and leave the ratio empty: the volumetric weight is then the volume in cm³ divided by it. A divisor of 5,000 cm³/kg is 200 kg per m³. A divisor of 6,000 cm³/kg is 166.666… kg per m³, which the calculator applies exactly: a 60,000 cm³ (0.06 m³) carton has a volumetric weight of 10 kg. A ratio rounded to 166.67 kg per m³ would give 10.0002 kg.
Only alongside the metric figure. Under section 8 of the Weights and Measures Act 1985, the inch, the foot, the cubic foot and the pound may be used for trade only as supplementary indications, and the metric indication must be the more prominent. That section covers England, Wales and Scotland.
The total is worked out from the exact volume of each line and rounded once, to 0.001 m³. Adding up volumes that are already rounded can be 0.001 m³ out.
This calculator gives general information, not legal, tax, financial or accounting advice. The volume and weight you are charged for depend on your carrier's terms: check its tariff or quote.
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