Calculate Chargeable Weight
calculate_chargeable_weightCalculates chargeable (billable) weight -- frachtpflichtiges Gewicht, Frachtgewicht -- for a freight shipment (Stückgut or Sammelgut) from a list of cargo pieces, for one of four transport modes. Answers questions like "wie viel wiegt die Sendung frachtpflichtig" or "was ist das Volumengewicht".
For each mode, chargeable weight is the greater of the actual (scale) weight and the volumetric weight (Volumengewicht), where volumetric weight is derived from total volume using a mode-specific default divisor (overridable via volumetric_divisor):
air (Luftfracht): volume_cm3 / 6000 (IATA standard, 167 kg/m3)
courier: volume_cm3 / 5000 (common express-carrier convention, e.g. DHL/FedEx/UPS)
road: volume_m3 * 333 (simple volumetric "1:3" convention; does not model Lademeter/LDM-based road pricing -- for loading-metre, Stellplätze, or vehicle-fit questions, use calculate_loading_metres and check_truck_fit instead, both on this server)
sea_lcl (Seefracht): volume_m3 * 1000 (W/M -- weight or measurement, 1 revenue tonne per m3)
Worked example: 2 pieces, 60x40x50cm, 45 kg each, air mode -> total actual weight 90 kg, total volume 0.24 m3, volumetric weight 40 kg (240,000 cm3 / 6000) -> chargeable weight 90 kg (actual weight governs, since it exceeds the volumetric weight).
Rounding: air and courier chargeable/volumetric weight round UP to the nearest 0.5 kg (chargeable_weight_raw_kg gives the unrounded value, chargeable_weight_kg the rounded one). Road and sea_lcl are not rounded up, just reported to 1 decimal place.
Edge cases: missing or invalid mode, more than 100 pieces, or any non-positive dimension/weight/quantity returns a clear, structured explanation rather than an error stack -- never a guessed default mode or divisor.
Returns total actual weight, total volume, volumetric weight, raw and rounded chargeable weight, which one governs, the divisor used, and a one-line human-readable summary.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| mode | No | Transport mode (required): one of "air" (Luftfracht), "road", "sea_lcl" (Seefracht), "courier". Selects the default volumetric divisor: air=6000 cm³/kg (IATA), courier=5000 cm³/kg, road=333 kg/m³ (simple volumetric convention — for loading-metre/Lademeter/LDM and vehicle-fit questions, use calculate_loading_metres and check_truck_fit instead, both on this server), sea_lcl=1000 kg/m³ (W/M). | |
| pieces | No | List of cargo pieces (up to 100 line items, required, non-empty). Use quantity to combine identical pieces rather than repeating rows. | |
| volumetric_divisor | No | Optional positive override of the mode's default divisor. For air/courier this is cm³ per kg (divided into volume); for road/sea_lcl this is kg per m³ (multiplied by volume). |