Freight tools & calculators
Four free, client-side calculators to plan a China–GCC shipment — volume, container loading, chargeable weight and landed cost, in the order you actually need them.
TL;DR: WorldFreightHub’s four tools turn three recurring freight math traps into calculators — chargeable weight (÷6000 air vs ÷5000 courier, up to a 20% billable swing), CBM, and container loading. A 60×50×40 cm box is 20 kg by air but 24 kg by courier, a 4 kg jump on one carton. Start with CBM below ~15 CBM for LCL and move to container loading above it, so the number you quote is the number you’ll actually be billed on.
CBM Calculator
Convert carton dimensions into cubic meters — the pricing basis for LCL sea freight.
Learn more →Container Loading Calculator
Estimate how many cartons or pallets fit in a 20ft or 40ft container.
Learn more →Volumetric Weight Calculator
Compute volumetric and chargeable weight for air freight and express billing.
Learn more →Freight Cost Calculator
Estimate the landed cost of a China-to-GCC shipment — freight, duty, VAT and the destination charges most quotes leave out.
Learn more →Which tool for which job
A four-step planning flow
- Measure the volume. Enter carton dimensions into the CBM Calculator to get the shipment’s total cubic metres. This single number decides LCL versus FCL: below roughly 15 CBM you share a container (LCL), above it you book a full box (FCL).
- Plan the load. If the volume points to FCL, use the Container Loading Calculator to see how many cartons fit a 20ft or 40ft container — remembering that a 20ft holds about 28 CBM and a 40ft about 58 CBM in practice, not in raw arithmetic.
- Check the chargeable weight. If any leg moves by air or express, run the Volumetric Weight Calculator. Light-but-bulky cargo is the classic trap here — a large box is billed on its volume, not its scale weight, and the calculator makes that visible before you commit to a quote.
- Build the landed cost. Take the volume, container count or chargeable weight from the first three tools and enter it into the Freight Cost Calculator with the goods value, destination port and hold days. It adds the published freight bracket, 5% GCC duty, destination VAT, insurance and the destination/local charge line that still needs a forwarder schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Which tool should I use first?
Start with the CBM Calculator because the ~15 CBM mark is the LCL/FCL crossover — below 15 CBM you pay per CBM, above it a 20ft’s ~28 CBM of usable volume starts to make sense. Then run the Container Loading Calculator to see whether one 40ft at ~58 CBM beats two 20fts at ~56 CBM, and finish with the Volumetric Weight and Freight Cost calculators to lock chargeable weight and landed cost.
Do these calculators charge me?
All four tools are free and run 100% in your browser with $0 fees and no server upload. They are planning aids, not quotes — use them to estimate, then confirm figures with a licensed forwarder before booking.
How accurate are the results?
They align with planning benchmarks — a 20ft at ~28 CBM, a 40ft at ~58 CBM, and air freight at ÷6000 — rather than promising a live rate. Real loadable volume depends on packaging, carton rigidity, palletisation and how well cargo stacks, so a container fits less in practice than the raw volume suggests. Treat every result as a starting point, not a commitment.
What is the difference between CBM and volumetric weight?
CBM prices space in cubic metres for LCL, while volumetric weight converts space to a notional kilogram figure — 1 CBM ≈ 167 kg at ÷6000 — for air and express billing. The carrier charges the greater of actual and volumetric weight, so a light 60×50×40 cm box bills at 20 kg by air even if it weighs less.
Do the calculators apply to the China-to-GCC corridor specifically?
Yes, the calculators use the corridor’s published benchmarks: 20ft ≈ 28 CBM and 40ft ≈ 58 CBM, air freight at ÷6000, and the Freight Cost Calculator’s China-to-GCC freight brackets, duty and VAT. That keeps the results calibrated to the numbers on this site rather than a generic world rate.
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