How Parcel Weight affects Courier Cost

What is dimensional weight?

Dimensional weight is the amount of space a package occupies in comparison to its actual weight. For all shipments, you are charged by measuring both actual and dimensional weight and applying whichever is greater.

Why is dimensional weight important?

Three main reasons:

• Shipping companies across the globe, including GT-EX, use dimensional weight to determine shipping prices; this is called dimensional weight pricing.
• Dimensional weight pricing may be used to reduce shipping costs for customers who optimise packaging for their shipments
• Reducing packaging can make shipments more environmentally friendly by lowering fuel emissions while helping you avoid overpacking, which wastes material

Imagine for a moment how many people organise shipments with packaging that’s too big. To stabilize the contents of these oversized boxes, extra cushioning material must be used. These overpacked shipments fill the trucks with cubic meters of unneeded corrugated cardboard, air pillows, Styrofoam. In some cases people are literally paying to ship air.

Dimensional weight pricing can reward customers who eliminate extra, oversized packaging. By increasing the shipment density, we can often pack more products on our trucks and planes, minimising cost for customers while maximising emissions efficiency.

To calculate dimensional weight:

1. Multiply length by width by height in centimetres. Round each measurement to the nearest whole centimetre. The resulting total is the cubic size of your package. Dividing by 4000 for shipments using the metric system and your dimensional weight will be calculated.

Example:

30cm X 30cm X 25cm / 4000

=

5.6kg dimensional weight

Need a hand with the math? Check out this dimensional weight calculator designed to help you calculate the dimensional weight of your shipments. Determining dimensional weight may seem complicated but using it correctly and optimizing your packaging can save your business money while protecting the planet in the process.

Additional information

For additional information on the best way to optimize your packaging, check out our Top Tips for Packaging Freight page.