What is Chargeable Weight ?
You may have asked yourself this question that while the weight of your cargo is known, why and how a transport service provider considers another weight as the weight of the cargo you pay for.
Why Chargeable Weight?
As you know, the loading space of the transportation vehicles is limited. This limitation becomes more important in air freight as the transportation cost in an aircraft is much more than road and sea freight modes of transportation. So, if only the weight of the cargo is considered as the base of freight calculations, transportation of the goods with large volume and low weight would not be economical for transport service providers (carriers).
You can of course lower the transportation costs by utilizing an optimum packaging system. At the end of this article, you will receive a file by which you can calculate the chargeable weight of your cargo in each mode of transport.
In order for a transport service provider (carrier) to find interest in transportation of goods with large volume and low weight, just like the goods with low volume and large weight, the chargeable weight concept has been evolved in the transportation ecosystem to be a base of calculation which finds a balance between weight and volume.
How is the chargeable weight (CW) calculated ?
Sea freight: 1 CBM should at least weight 1000 kgs
Formula: L x W X H (cm) / 1000 —> If the result of this formula is bigger than the weight of the cargo, this result is the chargeable weight, otherwise, the weight of the cargo is the chargeable weight. This formula is simply this: the volume or weight, whichever is bigger is the chargeable weight.
Example 1: If your cargo weighs 750 kgs and is 1.2 cbm, the chargeable weight is 1.2 which is shown: CW 1200
Example 2: If your cargo weighs 1300 kgs and is 1 cbm, the chargeable weight is 1.2 which is shown: CW 1300
Note: Chargeable Weight does not make sense in containerized shipments and is only considered in breakbulk or LCL shipments (in general, non-containerized shipments).
Road Freight: 1 CBM should at least weight 333 kgs (if 1 cbm is less than 333 kg, 333 is the chargeable weight, otherwise the weight is the chargeable weight)
Formula: L x W X H (cm) / 3000 —> If the result of this formula is bigger than the weight of the cargo, this result is the chargeable weight, otherwise, the weight of the cargo is the chargeable weight.
Example 1: If your cargo weighs 340 kgs and is 1 cbm, the chargeable weight is 340 which is shown: CW 340
Example 2: If your cargo weighs 320 kgs and is 1 cbm, the chargeable weight is 333 which is shown: CW 333
Note 1: Chargeable weight only makes sense for stackable LTL shipments (a truck that is not fully loaded for one client = console shipments = groupage truck)
Note 2: For non-stackable cargo, Loading Meter which is the area of the truck loading area that is occupied by the cargo is considered.
Air Freight: 1 CBM should at least weight 167 kgs (if 1 cbm is less than 167 kg, 167 is the chargeable weight, otherwise the weight is the chargeable weight)
Formula: L x W X H (cm) / 6000 —> If the result of this formula is bigger than the weight of the cargo, this result is the chargeable weight, otherwise, the weight of the cargo is the chargeable weight.
Example 1: If your cargo weighs 170 kgs and is 1 cbm, the chargeable weight is 170 which is shown: CW 170
Example 2: If your cargo weighs 160 kgs and is 1 cbm, the chargeable weight is 167 which is shown: CW 167
Note: This formula is generally accepted amongst the airlines, however, some airlines might apply a different formula.
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