What is CBM and how is it calculated?
CBM (cubic meter) is the standard volume unit used to quote ocean, air and road freight. One carton's CBM is its length × width × height in meters; your shipment's CBM is that figure multiplied by the number of cartons. Carriers compare it against actual weight to decide what you pay.
How many CBM fit in a 20ft, 40ft and 40HC container?
Nominal capacity is about 33 CBM for a 20ft, 67 CBM for a 40ft and 76 CBM for a 40ft High Cube. In practice, real-world stuffing typically reaches 25–28, 54–58 and 60–68 CBM respectively, because carton dimensions rarely fill the space perfectly.
What is the difference between CBM and volumetric weight?
CBM measures how much space your cargo occupies. Volumetric weight converts that space into an equivalent weight using a divisor (6000 for air freight, 5000 for express), so carriers can charge whichever is higher: actual or volumetric weight.
Why divide by 6000 for air freight?
IATA's standard volumetric factor treats 6000 cubic centimeters as 1 kilogram. Dividing your total volume in cm³ by 6000 gives the volumetric weight airlines compare against actual weight.
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