- Shipping: Calculating costs for sea, air, and road freight.
- Warehousing: Determining the storage space required for goods.
- Logistics: Optimizing the number of items that can fit into containers or pallets.
- E-commerce: Estimating shipping charges for large or irregularly shaped products.
CBM is a crucial metric for any business dealing with physical goods, as it directly impacts cost-efficiency and logistics planning.
- Air Freight: Airlines often charge based on volumetric weight, which is derived from CBM. This helps determine whether the chargeable weight is based on actual weight or volume.
- Sea Freight: In container shipping, CBM helps allocate cargo space in 20-foot or 40-foot containers. It ensures optimal container loading to minimize unused space.
- LCL (Less-than-Container Load): CBM is used to calculate the cost of shared container space for smaller shipments.
Courier and E-Commerce
- Shipping Charges: Companies like DHL, FedEx, and UPS use CBM to calculate dimensional weight, determining the cost of shipping large but lightweight parcels.
- Product Listings: E-commerce platforms use CBM to display volumetric weight, enabling sellers to estimate shipping fees.
- Order Consolidation: CBM helps determine whether multiple items can be combined into one shipment.