What is chargeable weight?
Chargeable weight is the weight an airline bills for. The airline compares the actual weight of the cargo with its volume weight and charges on the higher of the two.
Light, bulky cargo takes up space that heavier cargo could have used. Volume weight is how the airline charges for that space.
How do you calculate volume weight for air freight?
Measure each package in centimetres. Multiply the length by the width by the height, then divide by 6,000. The answer is the volume weight in kilograms.
Do the sum for each package, add the results together and compare the total with the actual weight.
- Measure length, width and height in centimetres
- Multiply the three to get cubic centimetres
- Divide by 6,000 to get the volume weight in kilograms
- Charge on the higher of volume weight and actual weight
What does a worked example look like?
Take ten cartons. Each one measures 60 by 50 by 40 centimetres and weighs 12 kilograms.
The volume weight is higher than the actual weight, so the airline charges on 200 kilograms. The same ten cartons take 1.2 cubic metres in a shared container.
What is CBM and how do you calculate it?
CBM means cubic metre. It is the unit used to measure cargo in a shared container.
Measure each package in metres and multiply the length by the width by the height. Add the packages together for the total.
How is sea freight charged?
A shared container, called LCL, is charged by the cubic metre. You pay for the space your cargo takes.
A full container, called FCL, is charged by the container. The price is the same whether the container is full or half empty, so a large load is usually better off in its own container.
How can you bring the chargeable weight down?
Pack tighter. A carton with empty space inside is billed for that space, and so is a pallet that overhangs.
Ask your supplier for the carton sizes before the goods are packed. A few centimetres off each side changes the total across a whole shipment.
What should you send for a quote?
Send the number of packages with the size and weight of each one. We work out the chargeable weight and the CBM and quote both modes if you want to compare.
Written by the Gxpress Dubai team on 10 October 2026. The air rule comes from the IATA air cargo tariff rules.
