Import tools
CBM calculator: volume, weight and container fit
This CBM calculator turns your carton list into the three numbers a freight quote is built on: total cubic meters, chargeable ocean weight and air volumetric weight. Enter each package line in centimeters or inches and it keeps the running totals as you add rows. The formula behind it, and what a cubic meter means in freight pricing, is covered in the full CBM guide.
Use the calculator
Total CBM, weight and container fit
Total CBM
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Loading the calculator…
Total weight
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Ocean revenue tons
what an LCL quote charges on
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Air volumetric weight
the air comparison
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Air chargeable weight
the air comparison
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Estimates from your entered dimensions. LCL billing follows the warehouse's measured dimensions at receiving.
What to enter for each package line
The totals are only as good as the lines you feed them. Three details per package type, and one habit: measure what actually ships, not what the product page says.
Package line inputs
| Input | What to enter | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Length, width and height of one carton, in cm or inches (the calculator converts either way) | Measuring the product instead of the packed carton. The box that ships is bigger than the item inside it. |
| Quantity | How many identical cartons of that line | Mixing carton sizes in one line. Different sizes get their own rows. |
| Weight per carton | The packed weight of one carton | Using the product weight. Packaging adds real kilograms across hundreds of cartons. |
Shipping palletized? Enter the pallet as the package: pallet length and width including any overhang, height including the pallet itself, and the loaded pallet weight. The freight is priced on what enters the container, and that is the pallet, not the cartons inside it.
How to read the three totals
Each total answers a different pricing question, and a quote request usually needs all of them.
Calculator outputs and what they price
| Output | How it is calculated | What it prices |
|---|---|---|
| Total CBM | Length x width x height per carton, times quantity, summed across lines | LCL base rate and every per-CBM charge on the quote |
| Ocean revenue tons | The greater of total CBM and total weight in metric tons (1 CBM counts as 1,000 kg) | What an LCL quote actually charges against, the W/M rule |
| Air volumetric weight | Total CBM x 167 kg | The air freight comparison: air charges the greater of this and the scale weight, explained in the chargeable weight guide |
Light and bulky cargo pays on volume in both modes; dense cargo pays on the scale. The same measured dimensions drive both answers, which is why an honest ocean-versus-air comparison starts from one carton list, not two.
Container fit, on numbers loading actually reaches
Spec sheets list what a container holds in theory. Real loading never gets there, because cartons do not tile perfectly and pallets leave air. The calculator flags fit against the realistic numbers, not the nominal ones.
What your total fits into
| Container | Nominal capacity | Realistic loose-loaded | Realistic palletized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 33.2 CBM | 25 to 28 CBM | 10 to 11 US pallets |
| 40ft standard | 67.7 CBM | 54 to 58 CBM | 20 to 21 US pallets |
| 40ft high cube | 76.4 CBM | 60 to 68 CBM | 20 to 21 US pallets, taller stacks |
The line that matters most sits lower than people expect: from around 13 to 15 CBM, a flat 20ft container rate usually beats paying per CBM on most Asia to US lanes. When your total crosses it, the FCL vs LCL math changes the booking, not just the price. Full dimensions, payloads and the special formats are in the container types guide.
Where the CBM total hits your invoice
On an LCL shipment the CBM number multiplies through the whole quote, not just the ocean line: base rate, origin receiving, destination CFS handling and often delivery all price per CBM or per W/M. A $60 per CBM base rate on 4.2 CBM is $252, and the same 4.2 drives the handling charges around it. Which lines those are, and what each surcharge means, is broken down in the ocean freight rates guide.
From a CBM total to a booked shipment with Platton
Platton is a digital freight forwarder for companies importing into the US. The calculator gives you the volume; these services turn it into space on a vessel or a flight.
LCL below the break-even
FCL once the total crosses the line
Air when the calendar decides
Common Questions About the CBM Calculator
Three per package line: the packed dimensions of one carton, how many identical cartons there are, and the packed weight of one carton. Accuracy dies in two places: measuring the product instead of the shipping carton, and averaging different carton sizes into one line. Give every distinct carton size its own line and use the dimensions of the box that actually leaves the factory, and the total will match what the warehouse measures within rounding.
Enter what enters the container. If cargo ships loose, the carton is the unit. If it ships palletized, measure the pallet as one package, the way the inputs table above describes. A pallet of 40 cartons takes more space than 40 cartons calculated individually, because pallets carry air in the stack and the deck adds height, and freight is priced on the palletized volume.
All three, plus the carton count: total CBM, total weight and how the cargo is packed. An LCL quote charges on the greater of CBM and metric tons, air on the greater of volumetric and scale weight, so a forwarder needs the pair, not one number. Sending only the CBM total is the classic cause of a re-quote after the warehouse weighs the cargo.
From roughly 13 to 15 CBM on the main Asia to US lanes, though it is a zone, not a hard line. Above it the flat 20ft rate tends to win on price, transit and handling, and the calculator flags your total the moment it enters that zone. Rates move, so near the boundary the practical answer is to price both, which is exactly how we quote it.
Because the warehouse measures what arrives, not what was planned. Cartons bulge, pallets overhang, wrap adds centimeters, and CFS receiving rounds dimensions up to the next centimeter or inch before recalculating. Small gaps between your math and theirs are normal; a large one usually means the supplier changed the packing without telling anyone. The measured figure is the one the invoice charges on, which is why the packed dimensions, not the catalog ones, belong in the calculator.
Related volume and cost guides
What is CBM: the formula, the conversions and the W/M rule behind every number this tool returns.
FCL vs LCL: the break-even math, worked line by line.
Container types and sizes: full dimensions and payloads for every format.
Chargeable weight: the air freight side of the same measurement.
Ocean freight rates: the per-CBM lines on a real quote.
Other import tools
Container capacity calculator
How many cartons or pallets fit a 20ft, 40ft or high cube, and how many containers you need.
Chargeable weight calculator
Gross vs volumetric weight per carton line and the rate slab your shipment sits in.
Freight class calculator
Density in lbs per cubic foot and the estimated NMFC class from your pallet list.
Import duty calculator
Duty, fees and landed cost.
Turn the volume into a quote
The next number after the volume is the landed cost, and the import duty calculator builds that one. When you are ready to book, send the carton list and you get back an itemized LCL, FCL or air quote priced on your real revenue tons.