CBM Formula

calculate cubic meter

Suppose you want to ship 50 cartons each carton size is
Height 20cm
Width 30cm
Length 40cm
1st STEP:
Must know the formula to calculate CBM is as under

CBM = W x H x L

W = WIDTH OF CARTON
H = HIGHT OF CARTON
L = LENGTH OF CARTON
2nd Step:
Please be remember the W, H, L, must be in Meter. If its not in meter need convert in the meter.
In our example the W, H, L is in cm so according to international standard 1 Meter is equal to
100cm. so we need to divide by 100 to get result in Meter.

Height 20 cm = 20/100 = 0.20 M

Width 30 cm = 30/100 = 0.30 M
Length 40 cm = 40/100 = 0.40 M

TIP: If you have measurement in CM and need to convert it to Meter the easiest way to move 2
decimal places. 20 CM after moving 2 decimal it will become 0.20 M.

3rd Step:
Now put values in the formula:

CBM = W x H x L
CBM = 0.20 X 0.30 X 0.40 = 0.024 CBM

So now your 1 Carton is equal to 0.024 CBM. It also means that your 1 carton will occupy 0.024
CBM space.

4th and Final Step:

If 1 carton will occupy 0.024 CBM the 50 cartons will occupy:
0.024 x 50 = 1.2CBM

That it, now you know that your total volume of shipment in Cubic Meter is 1.2 CBM.

Calculating the CBM

Measuring Cubic Meters(CBM) or Volume is the first step you should take in
determining how to ship your cargo.

The CBM of a consignment is always calculated

Length x Width x Height
Eg. 3.20 x 2.45 x 1.56
= 12.23CBM
For Seafreight shipments, the idea is to calculate CBM in meters. If you have 320cm's
then convert it to 3.2metres before starting the calculation.
If you have 45cm's then your formula will have 0.45metres.
A 20ft General Purpose or dry container will pack a maximum of 27.9CBM whilst a
40ft General Purpose or reefer container will pack 58.7CBM.
A 40ft High Cube which will allow you more space to pack and will pack a maximum
of 67.5CBM.
All of the above are subject to your line of commodity and how it is packed.
40ft General Purpose containers and High Cube containers are only to be used for
larger volume cargo and not larger weight cargo.

Also to bear in mind is the length of your cargo, you can't pack 13 meter steel pipes in
a 40ft General Purpose container as it is only 12.036metres in length. The proper
equipment will be required in this case.

Calculate the volumetric weight of your shipment

Sometimes, large items with a light overall weight can be charged according to the
space they take up on aircraft. In these cases, Volumetric Weight, or dimensional
(Dim) weight, is used to calculate the shipment cost. It is recommended that you
calculate the Volumetric Weight for every shipment that you send, then compare this
to its actual weight. The greater weight of the two is used to work out the price that
we charge you.
International Volumetric Weights are calculated using the formula below:
(Length x Width x Height in centimeters) / 6000 = Volumetric Weight in kilograms
For airfreight shipments, the method that the airline industry uses is the
Volume / Weight.
If you have 5 boxes that identical in size that are 23cmx34cmx56cm (LxBxH)
Presume that the actual weight of each of the 5 boxes is 10kgs.
What you will have to do first is separate the Volumetric from the Actual Weight.
Volumetric Weight Actual Weight
(23x34x56) div 6000 10kgs per box
= 43792 div 6000
= 7.30kgs per box
For 5 boxes : 7.30 x 5 For 5 boxes : 10 x 5
=36.5kgs =50kgs
The true weight needed to be declared to the airline here will be the actual weight
of the boxes of 50kgs.
Note: Airfreight is calculated in cm's not in meters as in sea freight.
Volumetric weight must be calculated by dividing by a denominator of 6000 in your
formula when calculating cubic centimeters (cm) or dividing by 166 when calculating

cubic inches (ins)

Make sure that your cargo can fit through the airline's loading doors.
Please note that this calculation is intended only as a quick guide. Actual loading will
depend on accurate calculations based on how the items are loaded in the container
and whether the dimensions of the cartons leave unusable space. Load factors will
vary based on carton size and how they are stored inside the containers.

*Payload in 40 Std. Reefer Container = 27,910kg.