Calculate loading metres: free loading metre calculator

What is a loading metre?

A loading metre (ldm) is one running metre of truck bed across the full usable width – 2.4 m² at a 2.40 m interior width. Forwarders bill bulky, non-stackable freight by loading metres because it blocks floor space regardless of weight. The standard formula: loading metres = (length × width) ÷ 2.4.

A Euro pallet (1.20 × 0.80 m) therefore occupies 0.4 loading metres, an industrial pallet 0.5. A standard semi-trailer offers 13.6 loading metres – enough for 33 to 34 Euro pallets on one level.

Height does not enter the calculation as long as it stays under the vehicle's internal height. A flat, wide item can therefore cost more loading metres than a tall, narrow one – only the floor area blocked counts towards the price.

Besides loading metres, a forwarder needs two more figures to quote firmly: whether the goods are stackable, and what they actually weigh. Both move the price more than a few centimetres of footprint.

Calculate loading metres in four steps

1. 1

   Measure each position's footprint

   Measure the length and width of each load unit on the floor – not the height. For standard packaging, pick the preset: Euro pallet 1.20 × 0.80 m, industrial pallet 1.20 × 1.00 m, mesh box 1.24 × 0.835 m.

2. 2

   Divide the area by 2.4

   Loading metres = (length × width) ÷ 2.4. The 2.4 is the usable internal width of a standard trailer in metres. A Euro pallet gives (1.20 × 0.80) ÷ 2.4 = 0.4 loading metres.

3. 3

   Account for stackability

   Anything that may be stacked halves the floor area it blocks. Two tiers means loading metres ÷ 2. Non-stackable freight keeps the full area – when in doubt, calculate as non-stackable.

4. 4

   Add the positions and check against the vehicle

   Sum all positions and compare with the vehicle's loading-metre capacity. If the total exceeds it, you need the next vehicle class up or a second run.

Stacking factor: the biggest lever on price

Stackability is the only setting that halves your loading metres without changing the goods. That is why every forwarder asks about it in a quote – and why getting it wrong here costs more than any other input.

Stacked loading metres = unstacked loading metres ÷ number of tiers

Eight Euro pallets occupy 3.2 loading metres unstacked. If they are double-stackable, that becomes 1.6 loading metres – on a typical general-cargo tariff, roughly half the freight cost.

Stackable is not the same as "fits on top". What matters is packaging strength, the weight of the upper tier, and the shipper's release. Declaring non-stackable goods as stackable means paying the difference afterwards – the forwarder invoices the space actually blocked.

Chargeable weight: 1,750 kg per loading metre

Forwarders do not bill the real weight but the chargeable weight. It is the higher of two figures: actual weight, or loading metres occupied multiplied by a conversion factor. In German general cargo that factor is usually 1,750 kg per loading metre.

The reason is simple: a cubic metre of polystyrene blocks just as much trailer as a cubic metre of steel. Without this rule, volume freight would effectively travel for free. Individual tariffs use different factors – the figure in the freight contract always takes precedence.

Example: 2 loading metres, real weight 900 kg. Chargeable is 2 × 1,750 = 3,500 kg. You are billed for 3,500 kg, not 900 kg.

Three worked examples

Five mistakes that make loading metres expensive

• Using the wrong width

  The 2.4 m is the internal width, not the truck's external width. Calculating with 2.5 or 2.55 m produces too few loading metres and a correction at the loading dock.

• Ignoring overhang

  If goods project beyond the pallet, the actual footprint counts, not the pallet dimension. A Euro pallet with 10 cm of overhang per side is no longer 0.4 loading metres.

• Rounding down

  Forwarders round up to the next common step, usually 0.1 loading metres. Rounding down yourself understates the freight cost systematically.

• Being too optimistic about stackability

  The declaration is checked at loading. If it does not hold, the space actually blocked is charged – plus possible waiting time if the run has to be re-planned.

• Reporting only the real weight

  Without a loading-metre figure the forwarder calculates chargeable weight itself. Supplying both lets you check the quote instead of accepting it.

Where loading metres decide the price

In general cargo loading metres are the billing basis: consignments from several shippers share one trailer, and each pays for the space it blocks. The same applies to consolidated loads, where your goods use spare capacity on a run that is happening anyway.

For part loads from roughly 6 loading metres upwards, and for full truckloads, the metric matters less – the trailer is then priced as a whole. For direct drives with a van or 3.5 t vehicle, payload usually matters more than loading metres, because weight runs out before floor space does.