Livnaroby Livnaro

FREIGHT CHECK / WEIGHT BASIS

Chargeable weight
calculator

Compare gross weight with volumetric weight. The larger value is the starting point; your carrier's divisor, minimums and rounding determine the final bill.

Carton details

One carton size

Use the packed outer dimensions. Gross weight includes the packaging.

Match the quote

Divisors are always cm³/kg. Rounding is always in kg, even when you display pounds. These are explicit planning settings, not a carrier tariff lookup.

Try an example

PLANNING CHARGEABLE WEIGHT

144.00 kg

Volume governs · no tariff rounding applied

Total carton volume
0.720000 m³
Total gross weight
120.00 kg
Total volumetric weight
144.00 kg
Higher weight before rounding
144.00 kg

720,000 cm³ ÷ 5,000 = 144 kg volumetric; compare with 120 kg gross.

Before booking, check per-piece billing, dimension rounding, minimum charges and the exact service on your quote. This page compares one carton size. Use the shipment worksheet for mixed cartons.

Volume is a measurement.
Chargeable weight is a rule.

Measure the longest packed length, width and height. Multiply by the carton count, then divide the total volume in cm³ by the divisor specified on your quotation.

Measure a carton along its packed outer length, width and height; multiply these dimensions to find volume.

Volumetric kg = total cm³ ÷ divisor
Planning chargeable kg = max(gross kg, volumetric kg)

A divisor of 5,000 corresponds to 200 kg per m³. A divisor of 6,000 corresponds to about 166.67 kg per m³. Neither divisor applies to every service or route. Sea LCL W/M is a separate comparison of m³ against gross tonnes; it is available in the shipment worksheet.

Two cartons. Two possible totals.

Take two cartons, each 51 × 40 × 30 cm and 10 kg. At ÷5,000 each has 12.24 kg volumetric weight. Before rounding, the shipment compares 24.48 kg volumetric with 20 kg gross.

Round whole shipment to 0.5 kg24.5 kgceil(24.48 ÷ 0.5) × 0.5
Round each carton to 0.5 kg25 kg2 × ceil(12.24 ÷ 0.5) × 0.5

Choose the rule in your tariff. With mixed carton sizes, the sum of each carton's higher weight can also differ from taking the higher of the shipment totals.

Use the source, then the calculator

How sea, road, express and air turn one cubic metre into kilograms: CBM to kg by mode.

DHL's weight guidance explains the 5,000 cm³/kg model. Its UK measuring advice also describes half-kilogram rounding for that service. Those examples do not establish a universal rule for other carriers.

Cartons for Amazon FBA? Amazon sizes each unit, and UPS and FedEx bill inbound boxes, at 139 in³/lb rather than a cm³ divisor: Amazon FBA dimensional weight on Cartpado, our sister site.

For a full preparation workflow, use the freight measurement guide. For equipment constraints, check the sourced container dimensions and carton loading calculator.

Updated 24 October 2026. Synthetic worked examples; shipment calculations stay in this browser. See the privacy notice for site analytics and anonymous usage counts.