cbm_calculator
Calculate cubic metres (CBM) for a shipment from per-piece dimensions, with conversions to cubic feet, cubic inches, and litres.
Instructions
Calculate cubic metres (CBM) for a shipment from per-piece dimensions. CBM is the standard volume unit in international shipping: 1 CBM = 1m x 1m x 1m = 1,000 litres, and ocean freight prices per "freight tonne" (1 CBM or 1,000 kg, whichever is greater).
Behavior: deterministic — identical inputs always return identical figures; total volume = pieces x per-piece CBM, with conversions to cubic feet, cubic inches and litres included. Missing or non-positive dimensions error with a validation message naming the parameter. Rate-limited (anonymous use: 25 requests/day per IP): a 429 error body carries retry_after_seconds and a Retry-After header — back off and retry, or call get_subscribe_link for higher limits.
Returns: cbm_per_piece, total_cbm, cubic_feet, litres, cubic_inches and pieces under result, plus confidence, _source and citation (the FreightUtils v1 response envelope).
Related: chargeable_weight_calculator (air billing weight from the same dims), consignment_calculator (multi-line totals), unit_converter (single conversions), shipment_summary (full composite analysis).
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| pieces | No | Number of identical pieces — total volume scales linearly. Default: 1. | |
| width_cm | Yes | Width of one piece in centimetres (> 0). Example: 80. | |
| height_cm | Yes | Height of one piece in centimetres (> 0). Example: 100. | |
| length_cm | Yes | Length of one piece in centimetres (> 0). Example: 120. |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ok | Yes | ||
| result | Yes | ||
| _source | Yes | ||
| citation | Yes | ||
| validity | No | ||
| warnings | No | ||
| confidence | Yes | ||
| blocking_errors | No | ||
| envelope_version | Yes | ||
| normalized_input | No |