Dimensional Weight: When You Pay for Air Instead of Cargo
Bulky foam and oversized crates can cost more than heavy ones. Here is the formula carriers actually use, and how to design around it.
Most shippers know that heavy packaging costs money. Fewer realise that bulky packaging can cost just as much, even when it weighs almost nothing.
Carriers charge on chargeable weight: the greater of actual weight and volumetric (dimensional) weight. When your packaging is bulkier than it is dense, you are paying to fly or sail air.
How chargeable weight is calculated
Volumetric weight is derived from the space a shipment occupies. For air freight the common formula is length x width x height in centimetres divided by 6000, giving a figure in kilograms. Courier and express services often use 5000, which is less forgiving.
The carrier then bills whichever is higher: your actual weight or that volumetric figure. A light but bulky consignment is charged as if it were dense.
This is why foam-heavy and oversized packaging quietly inflates freight bills. The foam weighs little, but it consumes chargeable volume.
Where packaging inflates volume
Thick foam inserts. Protection by bulk rather than by structure means every millimetre of cushioning is a millimetre of chargeable space.
Oversized crates built to a standard size rather than to the cargo. Void space inside a crate is space you pay to ship.
Deep pallet decks and thick runners, which add height to every unit in the stack.
Poor cube utilisation, where irregular packaging prevents tight stacking and wastes container or ULD volume.
Designing packaging that bills less
Honeycomb protects through engineered structure rather than through bulk, so the same protection can often be achieved in a thinner section than foam requires. Less cushioning thickness means less chargeable volume.
Because honeycomb is cut and formed to specification, crates can be built to the cargo rather than to a catalogue size, removing void space from the equation.
And because the material is both light and thin-sectioned, it improves both sides of the chargeable weight calculation at once — actual weight and volumetric weight.
Running the comparison honestly
Measure the outer dimensions and actual weight of your current packed unit, then calculate both figures and note which one the carrier is billing. If volumetric weight is the higher number, your problem is bulk, not mass, and reducing pallet weight alone will not fix the invoice.
Send those measurements to us with the cargo details and we will model what a honeycomb build does to both numbers before you commit to anything.
Frequently asked questions
How is volumetric weight calculated for air freight?
Multiply length x width x height in centimetres and divide by 6000 to get volumetric weight in kilograms. Express and courier services frequently use a divisor of 5000, which produces a higher chargeable figure for the same box.
Can packaging reduce dimensional weight charges?
Yes. Protection delivered through engineered structure rather than thick cushioning allows a smaller outer dimension, and crates built to the cargo rather than a standard size remove void space. Both reduce the volumetric figure the carrier bills.
Is honeycomb thinner than foam for the same protection?
Often, yes. Honeycomb absorbs energy through its cell structure rather than through material thickness, so comparable protection can frequently be achieved in a thinner section. The exact specification depends on cargo weight, fragility and drop height.
Find out which number you are actually paying
Send us your packed dimensions and weight, and we will calculate both figures and model a honeycomb alternative.