1 Cubic Meter

When dealing with other customers, clients or other departments within your company, often the smallest concepts can cause confusion, explaining something to someone in marketing, accounts or elsewhere whom have no previous logistical experience can be very frustrating for both parties.

Believe it or not, one of the most simple concepts misunderstood at times in freight terminology is the cube; or one cubic meter. The cubic meter is a unit of volume in the International System of Units.

The cubic meter symbol is "m³", sometimes abbreviated as "cu m" or "cbm". One Cube is equal to the space of one meter wide, one meter long, and one meter high.

Please see below for some visuals examples of how cartons may fit within one cubic meter.

Of course shipping is not limited to one cubic meter, to determine the "cube" of a particular shipment; simply multiply the dimensions of the carton (length x height x width); and then multiply that figure by the number of cartons; provided all the carton sizes are identical.

Take these examples from Oceanfreightusa.com; shipping 20 boxes with dimensions 18cm x 14cm x 12cm (0.18 x 0.13 x 0.12) has a total value of 1.42 cubic meters. Shipping 6 boxes with dimensions 18cm x 18cm x 22cm (0.18 x 0.18 x 0.22) is equal to 0.7 cubic meters.

In Sea Freight terms;

• 1 Standard TEU (20ft Sea Freight Container) has a cubic capacity of 33 cbm.
  

• 1 Standard 40ft Freight Container has a cubic capacity of 67.3 cbm.
  
  
• 1 High Cube 40ft Freight Container has a cubic capacity of 76.0 cbm.

Images and Cube Examples Courtesy of Amid Logistics LLC (Last updated 2009). About the CUBIC METER & W/M = Weight or Measurement in respect of shipping ocean freight from the USA. Amid Logistics LLC [online] oceanfreightusa.com. Available from: SOURCE [Accessed 28 July 2009].