What is chargeable weight?

Chargeable weight is the weight a carrier actually bills for: the greater of the shipment's actual weight and its volumetric (dimensional) weight. Light, bulky cargo is billed on volume so that it pays for the space it occupies.

How is air volumetric weight calculated?

Air volumetric weight is the total volume divided by a dimensional divisor. The IATA standard is 6000 cubic centimetres per kilogram (or 166 cubic inches per pound). The chargeable weight is the greater of that and the actual weight, rounded up to the next half kilogram.

Chargeable Weight Calculator

Q: How is ocean LCL chargeable weight calculated?

Ocean LCL is billed in revenue tons on a weight-or-measurement (W/M) basis. One revenue ton is the greater of the volume in cubic metres (CBM) and the weight in metric tonnes, so a cubic metre and a tonne are treated as equivalent and the larger figure governs.

Carriers bill on whichever is greater — what a shipment weighs or the space it fills. This works out both, for air (the IATA volumetric divisor) and ocean LCL (revenue tons on a weight-or-measurement basis), and tells you which one the carrier charges.

Units

Air divisor (cm³/kg)

Length (cm, per piece)

Width (cm)

Height (cm)

Pieces

Actual weight (kg, total)

Chargeable weight

Volumetric weight —

Actual weight —

Billed on —

Why carriers use chargeable weight

A crate of pillows and a crate of bolts take the same room on a plane or in a container, but the pillows weigh almost nothing. To be paid for the space, carriers bill the greater of actual weight and a volume-based weight. Dense cargo pays on weight; light, bulky cargo pays on volume.

Air: the dimensional divisor

Air volumetric weight is the shipment’s volume divided by a dimensional divisor. The IATA standard is 6000 cm³/kg (or 166 in³/lb); some express carriers use 5000 or 139, so it’s editable here. The chargeable weight is the greater of that and the actual weight, rounded up to the next half kilogram.

Air volumetric weight = (L × W × H × pieces) ÷ divisor

Ocean LCL: weight or measurement

Less-than-container ocean freight is billed in revenue tons on a weight-or-measurement (W/M) basis: one revenue ton is the greater of the volume in cubic metres (CBM) and the weight in metric tonnes. A cubic metre and a tonne are treated as equal, and the larger number sets the bill.

A planning estimate. Your forwarder’s tariff, rounding, and minimums set the final charge.