Calculating Air Freight Chargeable Weight.
Sending freight by air as we know is more expensive than by sea, road or rail, although a lot of businesses use air freight becasue it is fast – and timely delivery of stock means keeping customers happy and spending money.
Many are totally confused when it comes to calculating the chargeable weight of freight using the package volume as the predictor of the base charge.
When we talk about the volume of a package we mean how much space does the item take up when it is being transported. Given the various transportation methods such as air, sea, road rail etc, we also have to consider the delivery of goods either as fast or ecomony services.
Fo instance, a large cardboard box that weights a few kilos may cost more to ship than a much smaller box that weights considerably heavier. This is because the bigger and lighter box takes up more space (volume).
Think od volumetric conversion as a method of calculating how much space packages, cartons and boxes etc occupy inside the vehicle.
Volumetric conversion for airfreight shipments/cargo.
Volumetric conversion is the process of determining the volume (M3) or overall size of a shipment, and is one of the first calculations performed when comparing freight quotes using our own Freight Management Platform. This is done to help the carrier/courier to calculate and allocate the space needed to transport the item(s), and also determine if the actual ‘dead’ weight of the item(s) is less or greater than the volumetric weight, which can also be referred to as the ‘cubic weight’.
Air freight carriers and providers of air courier services such as DHL, UPS and FedEx will more often than not use the volumetric weight to determine the cost of shipping, as it provides a more accurate measure of the amount of space the shipment occupies in the cargo hold of an aircraft.
Airfreight volumetric weight conversion factors.
- 167kg = 1m3 for international airfreight shipments (167)
- 200kg = 1m3 for all domestic airfreight shipments (200)
Example 1.
To calculate the volumetric weight of a box measuring 0.50m x 0.60m x 0.20m with an actual weight (dead weight) of 30kg, we can use either the 167 conversion factor or the 6000 factor, depending on the unit of measurement. As we are in Australia, we will use the cubic metre formula of 167.
Calculating the cubic metre of a box measuring 0.50m x 0.60m x 0.20m = 0.06M3.
Volume = length x width x height
Volume = 0.50m x 0.60m x 0.20m
Volume = 0.06 cubic meters
So now we have the volume calculated at 0.06 cubic metres, it’s time to calculate whether the cost of airfreight will be based on the box dead weight of 30kg or the recalculated cubic (volumetric) weight.
Bearing in mind we’re using the ‘metre’ unit of measurement to calculate the volume of the box, we will be calculating the cost of international air freight using the 167 conversion factor.
Convert the box weight using the volumetric formula.
(cubic metre volume of the box) x (air freight conversion factor)
(0.06) x (167)kg = 10.02kg for an international airfreight shipment.
Cubic weight = 10.02kg
Using the formula we can see the box weight has been reweighed at 10.02kg, which is a lot less than the original dead weight of 30kg. In this instance the customer would be charged a per kilo rate for the 10kg and not the 30kg. International air courier freight pricing sits around 7.00 AUD per kg for airfreight in the current market. Freight rates will of course differ between carriers and the service being offered.
To calculate the cost of shipping at $7.00 AUD per kg, we need to multiply the chargeable weight by the rate per kilogram.
Total airfreight shipping cost = (chargeable weight x rate per kilogram)
In this case, the chargeable weight is the cubic weight of 10.02kg, so we can calculate the shipping cost as follows:
Shipping cost = 10.02 x 7
Shipping cost = $70.14
Therefore, the freight cost is $70.14. A cubic weight of 10.02kg at $7AUD per kilogram.
Example 2.
Calculate the shipping cost for a 30kg package at a rate of $7AUD per kilogram:
Shipping cost = (chargeable weight x rate per kilogram)
Shipping cost = 30kg x $7AUD/kg
Shipping cost = $210AUD
Therefore, it would cost $210AUD to send a package that weighs 30kg at a rate of $7AUD per kilogram.
Let’s now calculate the difference in the dead weight and cubic (volumetric) weights.
To calculate the difference in weight between 10.2kg and 30kg, we use the following formula:
Difference in weight = (larger weight – smaller weight) ÷ smaller weight x 100%
In this case, the larger weight is 30kg and the smaller weight is 10.2kg. Plugging these values into the formula, we get:
Difference in weight = (30kg – 10.2kg) ÷ 10.2kg x 100% Difference in weight = 19.8kg ÷ 10.2kg x 100% Difference in weight = 1.941 x 100% Difference in weight = 194.1%
Therefore, the difference in weight between 10.2kg and 30kg is 194.1%. This means that 30kg is almost two times (or 194.1% more) heavier than 10.2kg.
Calculate the dollar value difference in price.
To calculate the difference, we simply need to subtract the smaller price from the larger price:
Difference in price = larger price – smaller price
Difference in price = $210AUD – $70.14AUD
Difference in price = $139.86AUD
Therefore, the difference in price between $70.14AUD and $210AUD is $139.86AUD.
Calculate the dollar value difference in price.
To calculate the percentage difference between $70.14AUD and $210AUD, we can use the following formula:
Percentage difference = |(new value – old value) / old value| x 100%
Using this formula and plugging in the values, we get:
Percentage difference = |($210AUD – $70.14AUD) / $70.14AUD| x 100%
Percentage difference = ($139.86AUD / $70.14AUD) x 100%
Percentage difference = 1.992 x 100%
Percentage difference = 199.2%
Therefore, the percentage difference between $70.14AUD and $210AUD is 199.2%. This means that the new price of $210AUD is almost two times (or 199.2% more) higher than the old price of $70.14AUD.
Volumetric factor of 167.
The volumetric factor of 167 is a commonly used standard in the freight industry for calculating the volumetric weight of a shipment. It’s important to note that while 166 is a widely used factor, it may not be the only factor used by all carriers, and some carriers may use different factors based on their specific requirements and restrictions.
How is airfreight pricing calculated?
When calculating airfreight prices in Australia we always work in kilogram always quoted per kg/6 dm3. This can also be called the volume ratio 1 : 6 or 1 m3 = 167 kg. That means you either pay for the weight or the space necessary for the transport of your consignment.
The calcuation is always based on the following equation regardless of whether you are paying for the weight or the space:
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Air freight shipping cost calculations.
When it comes to air freight, the cost of shipping is not just based on the weight of the goods. The final chargeable weight calculation is based on either the actual weight of the package or the volumetric weight, whichever is higher. This means that even if your shipment is heavy, if it takes up a lot of space, it will cost more to ship.
To calculate the volumetric weight of a shipment, the dimensions of the package are multiplied together to determine the cubic size of the shipment. This number is then divided by a volumetric factor, which varies depending on the unit of measurement used. For air freight, the volumetric factor is typically 167.
Eg. A parcel measures 60cm x 40cm x 40cm and weighs 15kg
The resulting number is the volumetric weight, which is compared to the actual weight of the shipment. Whichever weight is higher is used to calculate the cost of shipping.
For example, let’s say you have a shipment that weighs 50 kilograms, but the dimensions of the package are 120cm x 60cm x 40cm. To calculate the volumetric weight, you would multiply these dimensions together to get 288,000 cubic centimeters. Then, you would divide by the volumetric factor of 167 to get a volumetric weight of 172.16kg. In this case, the volumetric weight is higher than the actual weight, so the cost of shipping would be based on the volumetric weight of 172.16kg, rather than the actual weight of 50kg, making it much more expensive to ship.
Here are three examples of how sending freight in a large box can increase the overall cost of freight when using an air freight conversion rate of 167:
- Furniture: If you are shipping a piece of furniture, even if it is heavy, it may take up a lot of space. If the furniture is also packaged in a large box with extra padding to protect it during shipping, the volumetric weight could be much higher than the actual dead weight. This when the higher cost for the shipment comes into play.
- Clothing: If you are airfreighting a large quantity of clothing samples, it may be tempting to package them together in one large box to make it easier to handle. However, if the box is too large, the volumetric weight may be higher than the actual weight.
- Machinery: If you are shipping heavy machinery, it may take up a lot of space because of its irregular shape and dimensions. These types of airfreight shipments can be challenging to send. There are some airlines which have restrictions on the length and height of the freight. Fitting freight inside an aircraft cargo bay can be challenging owing to the confined space. Quite often, we have seen air cargo handlers struggle with oversized or odd-shaped freight, therefore declaring the exact dimensions prior to making a booking is essential.
- Electronics: If you are shipping a large quantity of electronics, such as televisions or computers, extra care is taken to protect the goods in transit. Sensitive electronic equipment must be protected from man-handling at various stages of the delivery process. Adding extra padding around the goods is the smart option, although increasing the package size means a larger cubic volume. As we know, the greater the volume, the liklehood of extra charges being incurred.
- Car Parts: If you are shipping car parts, such as engines or transmissions, they may be heavy but take up a lot of space, therefore a volumetric or cubic weight may be charged by the carrier.
- Fabric Samples: If you are shipping fabric samples from overseas to Australia, they can be quite heavy and more often than not, fabric roll are the common method of holding long lengths. Fabric and cloth may be light but they still take up a lot of space, especially when shipping by air. When shipping cylinders or rolls of fabric it can be quite difficult to measure the total dimensions accurately. It’s easy to measure the length of the roll, but the width and height of the roll is measured by the diameter of the roll. It always pays to also add a centimetre or so to the diameter just in case, because inaccurate measurements can also result in extra charges. Bundling several rolls into one package can also help because there is one handling charge if that needs to be applied. This can also save you money when shipping to a residential street address, because most couriers add a residential delivery surcharge. This surcharge is to cover the challenges facing a delivery driver as they navigate narrow streets, excess traffic, safe parking, walking to delivery the package, climbing stairs etc. From the perspective of the delivery driver and where Work Health and Safety is concerned, we can see this can often be a justifiable extra charge. When sending several rolls of fabric, it pays to bundle them all together to minimise the risk of multiple excess delivery surcharges associated with multiple packages.
- Cane Furniture: If you are shipping cane furniture, such as chairs or tables, they may be bulky and take up a lot of space. If you package them in a larger box to protect them during shipping, the volumetric weight may be much higher than the actual weight, resulting in a higher shipping cost.