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Pallet, CBM & loading-meter calculator
Add your pallets or cartons to get total volume (m³), loading meters (LDM) and trailer fill.
Pallet, CBM & loading-meter calculator
Add your pallets or cartons to get total volume (m³), loading meters (LDM) and trailer fill.
What is a loading meter (LDM)?
A loading meter is one metre of trailer floor taken across its full usable width. A standard curtainsider measures 2.40 m inside, so one LDM is 2.40 square metres of floor. Divide the footprint of your cargo in square metres by 2.40 and you have its loading meters — height never enters the figure, only the floor the goods stand on.
Loading meter equivalences
| Unit | Floor area (m²) | Loading meters (LDM) |
|---|---|---|
| EUR pallet 120 × 80 cm | 0.96 | 0.40 |
| Half pallet 80 × 60 cm | 0.48 | 0.20 |
| Industrial pallet 120 × 100 cm | 1.20 | 0.50 |
| Standard curtainsider | 32.64 | 13.60 |
The internal loading width is 2.40 m, and every figure above is derived from it. Height changes nothing; only stacking does. For chargeable weight, EU road freight converts one loading meter to 1,750 kg and one cubic metre to 333 kg.
How to use it
- 1Enter each pallet type and quantity, or give custom length, width and height in centimetres.
- 2The tool sums the floor area and divides by the 2.40 m internal width of a standard trailer.
- 3Read the loading metres (LDM) and cubic metres (CBM) — LDM is what a groupage carrier charges on.
Loading meter FAQ
How many loading meters does a standard trailer have?
A standard 13.6 m curtainsider gives 13.6 loading meters, because a loading meter is one metre of floor taken across the full 2.40 m internal width. A 7.2 m rigid gives 7.2 LDM on exactly the same rule. The figure is the usable floor length, not the external length of the vehicle.
How is a loading meter calculated?
Multiply the length by the width of each item in metres to get its floor area, divide that by the 2.40 m internal width, and add the lines together. A 1.20 × 0.80 m EUR pallet covers 0.96 square metres, so 0.96 ÷ 2.40 = 0.40 LDM. Height never enters the formula.
How do you convert m³ to LDM?
There is no direct conversion, because cubic metres include height and loading meters do not. Work from the footprint instead: floor area divided by 2.40. If all you have is the volume, EU road freight prices it as weight — one cubic metre counts as 333 kg — and that chargeable weight is then compared against 1,750 kg per loading meter.
How many pallets are there in a cubic metre?
It depends on how high the pallet is built. A 1.20 × 0.80 m EUR pallet loaded to 1 m occupies 0.96 m³, so roughly one pallet per cubic metre; the same pallet built to 1.80 m is 1.73 m³. Its loading meters stay at 0.40 either way, which is why groupage is charged on LDM and not on volume.
Does stacking reduce the loading meters?
Yes, when the goods can take weight on top. Two stackable pallets share one ground position, so ten of them occupy five positions — 2.00 LDM instead of 4.00. A single stackable pallet still takes a full position. Tick the stackable box on a line and the calculator counts ground positions instead of pieces.