How the CBM calculator works
A CBM calculator multiplies the length, width and height of a carton in metres and then by the number of cartons. A 40 x 32 x 61.5 cm carton is 0.4 x 0.32 x 0.615 = 0.079 m³, so 360 cartons take about 28.3 m³. Paper cups are light but bulky, which is why volume rather than weight usually sets the freight.
Volumetric weight and chargeable weight
Carriers charge whichever is higher: the actual weight or the volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is the volume in cm³ divided by a divisor: 1,000 for sea, 3,000 for road and 6,000 for air. One cubic metre therefore counts as 1,000 kg by sea, 333 kg by road and 167 kg by air. With cups the volumetric weight almost always exceeds the actual weight.
Container fill: nominal volume versus factory count
The calculator keeps two sources apart. For a load you type in, it uses the nominal internal volume: 33.2 m³ for a 20' standard, 67.7 m³ for a 40' standard, 76.4 m³ for a 40' high cube and about 90 m³ for a 13.6 m truck. Stacking and pallets make part of that space unusable, so the result is an upper limit. For our own cups the factory's measured loading count is used instead; it is the same 20' HQ, 40' HQ and truck carton count shown on each product page.
Pallet count
Cartons per pallet differ by product, and our factory gives a separate pallet pattern for every size. For our cups the calculator divides the carton count by that figure and rounds up. Manual rows get no pallet count, because the pattern depends on carton size and stacking height.
Mixed loads
If one container will carry several sizes, add a row for each. The factory-based fill adds up each size against its own container count. The minimum order is 60 cartons per item, and the calculator flags any row below that.