Planning a supplement shipment: CBM, pallets and containers
Shipping a production run means working through four levels: bottles in a master carton, cartons on a pallet, pallets or loose cartons in a container, and the total volume and weight that freight is quoted on.
1. Master cartons
Bottles per carton = bottles along the length × along the width × layers. Test both footprint orientations. For example, 60 mm bottles in a 370 × 250 mm carton fit 6 × 4 = 24 per layer. Two layers make 48 bottles, depending on height and dividers.
2. CBM and chargeable weight
CBM = length × width × height in metres. A 40 × 30 × 25 cm carton is 0.03 m³. For air freight, carriers usually charge the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. A common divisor is 6,000 cm³ per kg, but rates vary.
3. Pallets
Cartons per pallet are limited by footprint, height (including the pallet deck) and gross weight. Common pallet footprints are 1200 × 800 mm (EUR), 1200 × 1000 mm and 48 × 40 in. Overhang is usually not accepted, and height limits are set by the warehouse or carrier.
4. Containers
Typical internal lengths are about 5.9 m for a 20 ft container and about 12 m for a 40 ft. High-cube containers add roughly 30 cm of height. Floor-loaded cartons use the space best but take longer to handle, while pallets are faster to load and unload but waste height. The usable payload is often limited by road weight rules rather than by the container itself.
Where estimates go wrong
- Carton bulge and tolerances. Allow a margin rather than packing to the millimetre.
- “This side up” cartons, which halve the orientation options.
- Stack limits for crushable cartons.
- Door and corrugation clearance in the container.
Work through it with the packaging calculator, then inspect the load in the 3D container load calculator. Always confirm with your forwarder.