Your shipment
- Total volume
- 0CBM
- Total gross weight
- 0kg
- Volumetric weight (air)
- 0kg
- Chargeable weight (air)
- 0kg
Volumetric weight = length × width × height in cm ÷ 6000, per carton.
Enter your cartons and you get the volume, the chargeable weight, and an indicative figure from our published rates. FCL is quoted per booking — send a request and you get a firm number the same business day.
What CBM is
CBM is a cubic metre. For one carton it is length × width × height, each in metres; for a shipment it is that figure summed over every carton. Sea LCL is priced on CBM because your cartons share a container with other importers' cargo and the space they take is what costs money, not their weight. Our sea LCL rate is S$82 per CBM, hub to door, and the minimum billed is 1 CBM, so a shipment smaller than that is charged as 1 CBM. The sea freight guide covers what the rate includes.
Volumetric weight
Air freight has two weights. The actual weight is what the scale says. The volumetric weight is what the space a carton occupies would weigh if it were filled with something of average density, and it is worked out as length × width × height in centimetres ÷ 6000, per carton, then summed. A carton of 60 × 40 × 50 cm has a volumetric weight of 20 kg whatever is inside it.
Chargeable weight
Air is charged on the chargeable weight: the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. Light, bulky cargo such as cushion covers or foam is charged on volume; dense cargo such as tiles or metal parts is charged on the scale. Our air rate is from S$6.00 per kg of chargeable weight, general cargo, with a minimum of 10 kg. The air freight guide explains when air is worth it and when sea is the better trade.
Tell us what you're shipping.
Send the details and any invoice or packing list you have. You get a reference number immediately and a written quote the same business day.
A worked example
Two carton types, measured in centimetres. CBM is the product of the three sides in metres; volumetric weight is the product in centimetres divided by 6000. Both are per carton and then multiplied by the quantity.
| Carton | Dimensions (cm) | Quantity | CBM each | CBM total | Volumetric kg each | Volumetric kg total | Actual kg total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 60 × 40 × 50 | 10 | 0.12 | 1.2 | 20 | 200 | 40 |
| B | 40 × 30 × 30 | 5 | 0.036 | 0.18 | 6 | 30 | 60 |
| Shipment | 15 | 1.38 | 230 | 100 |
By sea this shipment is 1.38 CBM, above the 1 CBM minimum, so it is billed on 1.38 CBM at S$82 per CBM. By air the volumetric weight is 230 kg against an actual weight of 100 kg, so the chargeable weight is 230 kg, well above the 10 kg minimum. The guide to shipping from China to Singapore goes through when each mode makes sense.
Indicative, not confirmed
The figures the calculator shows are indicative, from our published rates. Your written quote is the confirmed figure. The quote also carries what the calculator cannot know: GST at 9% on the import value, any special handling, and whether anything on the restricted goods list needs paperwork. Use the figures in a quote request and you have a written quote the same business day.