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The chargeable weight is the weight you have to pay the carrier for. Freight weight is often also referred to as volumetric weight. It can either be the actual weight of your shipment or its volumetric weight, whichever is greater.
Why is shippable weight used?
This is because all modes of transport are limited by the amount of space and weight available for goods. To make the most of this space and weight, carriers compare the actual weight and volume of the goods. You then pay for the highest value - the chargeable weight.
What is the conversion factor?
The conversion factor is used to convert volume to volumetric weight by telling how many kilograms go into, for example, 1 cubic metre (CBM) and loading metre (LDM). A commonly used conversion factor for national road transport is 1 CBM = 250 kg or 1 LDM = 1500 kg.
See here if you are unsure about calculating a load metre.
This means that if you ship a pallet that fills 1 CBM, the volumetric weight is 250kg.
Below we have listed some commonly used conversion factors for how many kilos a loading metre, a cubic metre and a EUR pallet correspond to for different modes of transport.
However, the conversion factor depends on your chosen mode of transport and carrier - so always check which conversion factor your carrier uses.
| Road transport | National | International | NO/SE/FI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Lademeter = | 1,500 kg | 1,850 kg | 2,000 kg |
| 1 cubic metre = | 250kg | 333 kg | 350kg |
| 1 EUR pallet* = | 600kg | 740kg | 800kg |
| Air transport | 1 CBM = 167 kg |
| Maritime transport | 1 CBM = 1,000 kg |
| DHL Express/UPS/TNT Express | 1 CBM = 200 kg |
| TNT Economy | 1 CBM = 250 kg |
If you want to read more about the conversion factors and get a PDF overview of the most commonly used ones, we've written an in-depth post about conversion factors.
How to calculate chargeable weight
The chargeable weight is calculated through the following three steps:
- Find the volume of the estate in metres (length x width x height)
- Find the volumetric weight of the goods (volume x conversion factor)
- Compare the volumetric weight with the actual weight
The chargeable weight is the higher of the volumetric weight and the actual weight. It will therefore be this weight that you have to pay for.
Note: If you ship by road carrier, you should also calculate the volumetric weight from the loading meter.
Example of how to calculate chargeable weight
A 50x50x60 cm item with a weight of 30 kg must be shipped nationally by road transport. This transport method has a conversion factor of 1 cbm = 250 kg.
- Calculate the volume: 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.6 = 0.15 cbm
- Calculate volumetric weight: 0.15 x 250 kg = 37.5 kg
The volumetric weight of 37.5kg is greater than the actual weight of 30kg.
The chargeable weight is therefore 37.5kg, and this is the weight you will have to pay for when you send the parcel.
FAQ
What is chargeable weight?
The chargeable weight is the weight you have to pay for with the carrier. It can either be the actual weight of your shipment or its volumetric weight, whichever is greater.
Why is shippable weight used?
All modes of transport are limited by an amount of space and weight for cargo. To make the most of this space and weight, carriers compare the actual weight and volume of goods.
What is a conversion factor?
The conversion factor is used to convert volume to volumetric weight by telling how many kilograms go into, for example, 1 cubic metre (CBM) and loading metre (LDM).
The conversion factor depends on your chosen mode of transport and carrier - always check which conversion factor your carrier uses.
How is chargeable weight calculated?
- Find the volume of the estate in metres (length x width x height)
- Find the volumetric weight of the goods (volume x conversion factor)
- Compare the volumetric weight with the actual weight
- The chargeable weight is the higher of volumetric weight and actual weight.
