chargeable_weight_calculator
Calculate air freight chargeable weight by comparing actual gross weight with volumetric weight. Get the billable weight airlines use, with IATA or express divisors applied.
Instructions
Calculate air freight chargeable weight — the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, which is what airlines bill. Volumetric weight (kg) = (L x W x H in cm) / divisor; the IATA-standard divisor is 6,000 (1 CBM = 166.67 kg), while express integrators (DHL, FedEx, UPS) typically use 5,000.
Behavior: deterministic; per-piece volumetric weight is rounded to 2 decimal places before totalling; basis reports which weight governs ("volumetric" = cargo is light for its size, "actual" = dense). Air mode only — sea W/M (1 CBM = 1,000 kg) is covered by consignment_calculator with mode=sea. Missing or non-positive inputs error with the failing parameter named. 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: chargeable_weight_kg, basis, volumetric_weight_kg (total and per piece), gross_weight_kg, cbm, ratio, factor and pieces under result; normalized_input echoes the interpreted inputs and any defaults applied; plus confidence, _source and citation (the FreightUtils v1 response envelope).
Related: cbm_calculator (volume only), consignment_calculator (multi-line, all modes), uld_lookup (the equipment the freight flies in).
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| factor | No | Volumetric divisor in cm³/kg. Default: 6000 (IATA standard); express carriers typically 5000. | |
| pieces | No | Number of identical pieces. 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. | |
| gross_weight_kg | Yes | Actual gross weight of the WHOLE shipment (all pieces) in kilograms. Example: 500. |
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 |