CBM (Cubic Meter): Freight Volume Measurement

CBM, the cubic meter, is the volume unit ocean freight is measured and billed in: the volume of one package is its length times width times height in meters, and the consignment total is that figure multiplied by the package count. A standard 60 × 40 × 40 cm export carton is 0.096 CBM; 250 of them make a 24-CBM consignment.

LCL (less-than-container-load) tariffs bill per revenue ton on the weight-or-measurement (W/M) basis: 1 revenue ton is 1 CBM or 1,000 kg of gross weight, whichever produces the larger figure, so light cargo pays on volume and dense cargo pays on weight. The full article will cover the revenue-ton convention’s origin in the measurement ton (40 cubic feet, or 1.1327 cubic meters), typical per-CBM LCL rate structures and minimums, the internal capacities carriers publish for each container type, and how W/M interacts with stowage factor for breakbulk. Note that no ISO standard publishes container cubic capacity: ISO 668:2020 carries only minimum internal dimensions and routes the rest to ISO 1496.

The arithmetic, the mode divisors and the worked cases are in CBM and chargeable weight , and the billing rule itself in chargeable weight .