How chargeable weight is calculated: air, express, LCL and road

When a carrier charges you for a shipment, it does not bill only the kilos on the scale: it bills the chargeable weight, the greater of gross weight and volumetric weight. The convention exists because a truck or an aircraft fills up by weight and by volume alike: light but bulky cargo occupies space that cannot be sold to anyone else.

Air freight: IATA divisor 6000

In general air cargo, the IATA convention is to divide the volume in cubic centimetres by 6000. In other words, 1 cubic metre equals 166.67 kg. If the result exceeds the gross weight, the volumetric weight is billed.

Example: a 100 × 80 × 60 cm box (0.48 m³) weighing 50 kg gives 480,000 / 6000 = 80 kg volumetric. You are billed for 80 kg, not 50.

Express and courier: divisor 5000

Integrators (DHL, UPS, FedEx…) normally apply a more aggressive divisor of 5000: the same parcel costs more on volumetric terms. 1 m³ equals 200 kg. Always check your account conditions — some contracts negotiate 6000.

Sea LCL: weight or measure (w/m)

In sea groupage (LCL) the rule is "per tonne or cubic metre, whichever is greater": 1 m³ = 1,000 kg. Since almost no general cargo exceeds 1,000 kg/m³, LCL is in practice almost always billed by volume.

Road: groupage at 333 kg/m³

In European road groupage the most widespread convention is 1 m³ = 333 kg (divisor 3000). Loading-metre rules also apply to non-stackable cargo: 1 loading metre of truck usually equals 1,750 kg.

Practical rules

• Always compute both weights before requesting a quote: invoice surprises come from the volumetric side.
• Rounding: air usually rounds up to the next half kilo; express, to the next kilo.
• Optimising packaging (less air inside the box) is the fastest way to save on light cargo.

You can run the numbers across all four conventions at once, step by step and without sending any data, with the chargeable weight calculator on this site.