Calculate cubic metres (m³)
Work out the volume of a box or a whole shipment in m³ and litres. Handy for sea freight, storage and volumetric weight with couriers.
4.8 m³
Total volume
4.8 m³
4,800 litres · 600 kg
- Volumetric weight (divisor 5000)
- 960 kg
- 20ft container
- 17% full
- 40ft container
- 8% full
- 40ft high cube
- 7% full
Containers calculated at 85% of the internal space: boxes never fit together perfectly.
Internal dimensions of shipping containers
| Container | Internal size (l × w × h) | Volume | Euro pallets on the floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20ft container | 5.9 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 33.2 m³ | 11 |
| 40ft container | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.39 m | 67.7 m³ | 24–25 |
| 40ft high cube | 12.03 × 2.35 × 2.69 m | 76.3 m³ | 24–25 |
Is the shipment going on pallets? Calculate how many boxes fit on a pallet.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate cubic metres?+
Multiply length × width × height, all three in metres. A box of 60 × 40 × 40 cm is 0.6 × 0.4 × 0.4 = 0.096 m³. If you calculate in centimetres, divide the result by 1,000,000.
How many litres is a cubic metre?+
1 m³ is 1,000 litres. So a box of 0.096 m³ has a volume of 96 litres.
How many m³ fit in a container?+
A 20ft container has about 33 m³ of internal space, a 40ft container 67 m³ and a 40ft high cube 76 m³. With boxes you’ll achieve about 80 to 90% of that in practice, because boxes never fit together seamlessly.
What is volumetric weight?+
Couriers and air freight charge on the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. Volumetric weight = length × width × height in cm / 5000 (4000 or 6000 with some carriers). A light, large box of 60 × 40 × 40 cm counts as 19.2 kg.
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