What is chargeable weight for air and ocean freight?

Air freight bills the greater of the actual gross weight and the volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is CBM multiplied by 167 kg per cubic meter (the IATA 1:6000 rule). Ocean LCL bills on weight-or-measure (W/M): one revenue ton is the greater of one metric ton (1,000 kg) or one CBM, so light bulky freight is billed by volume and dense freight by weight.

How many CBM fit in a shipping container?

A 20-foot container holds roughly 33 CBM and a 40-foot container roughly 67 CBM of usable space, with a 40-foot high-cube around 76 CBM. Real load plans come in under those figures because cartons never tile perfectly, so planners commonly fill to about 80 to 90 percent of the theoretical maximum.

CBM Calculator

Q: How do you calculate CBM?

CBM (cubic meters) is length x width x height in meters, multiplied by the number of cartons. If your dimensions are in centimeters, divide each by 100 first, or multiply the three together and divide by 1,000,000. A carton 120 x 100 x 150 cm is 1.8 CBM; two of them is 3.6 CBM. Add a line for each different carton size and sum the results for the shipment total.

Total CBM (cubic meters) for an ocean or air shipment — enter each carton’s length, width, height and quantity. You get the cube in both m³ and cubic feet, plus the chargeable weight air (volumetric) and ocean LCL (weight-or-measure) would each bill it at.

Total gross weight (kg) — optional

Add the shipment’s actual weight to see which basis governs — weight or volume — for air and ocean.

Total volume

m³ (CBM)

Total CBM — cubic meters

Cubic feet — ft³ (CFT)

Cartons — total pieces

Gross weight — entered

Chargeable weight

Air freight

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Ocean LCL (W/M)

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How to calculate CBM

CBM — cubic meters — is just the volume of your freight in metric units. Multiply a carton’s length × width × height in meters, then multiply by how many of that carton you’re shipping. If your tape measure reads centimeters, either divide each side by 100 first, or multiply the three together and divide by 1,000,000. A carton measuring 120 × 100 × 150 cm is 1.8 CBM; ship two and it’s 3.6 CBM. For a mixed load, add a line per carton size and sum them — which is what this tool does. See the method in every unit in the CBM formula, or how to calculate CBM for the full picture.

CBM is the currency of ocean and air freight. Get it right and every quote, container plan, and chargeable-weight check downstream lines up.

CBM and chargeable weight

Carriers won’t let light, bulky freight ride cheap just because the scale is kind. Both air and ocean convert your cube into a billing weight and charge the greater of that and the actual weight.

Air freight uses volumetric weight: CBM × 167 kg/m³ (the IATA 1:6000 rule). If a shipment is 3 CBM and weighs 300 kg, its volumetric weight is about 500 kg — and it bills at 500. Ocean LCL uses weight-or-measure (W/M): one revenue ton is the greater of one metric ton (1,000 kg) or one CBM. So a 3 CBM / 300 kg shipment bills as 3 revenue tons (volume wins); a dense 3 CBM / 4,000 kg shipment bills as 4 (weight wins).

CBM per container

Container	Usable capacity	Practical load (~85%)
20′ standard	~33 CBM	~25–28 CBM
40′ standard	~67 CBM	~55–58 CBM
40′ high-cube	~76 CBM	~62–66 CBM

Those capacities are the empty box. Cartons never tile perfectly, so a realistic plan fills to roughly 80–90 %. Use the practical column to sanity-check whether your CBM will actually fit before you book.

Where this stops being enough

This gives you the cube and the two chargeable-weight bases; it doesn’t quote the rate. Actual pricing depends on the lane, the carrier’s exact volumetric divisor, minimums, and how tightly the freight can be stacked. Take the CBM and chargeable weight here into the quote — they’re the inputs every LCL and air-freight rate is built on.