HOW TO CALCULATE THE VOLUME OF A CARDBOARD BOX

Calculating the volume of a carton is essential for the operation of any company or e-commerce. In this way, knowing the volume of a box is necessary for:

Determine whether it has sufficient capacity to hold a specific product.

Understand how much space it will occupy in the warehouse.

Understand how much the shipping company will charge you for transportation to the final destination.

Today at RAJA we will teach you how to calculate the volume of a box and how to use that information to properly store your goods, better plan your shipments and reduce shipping costs.

Formula to calculate the volume of a box

The volume of a box is obtained by multiplying three measurements: length, width and height.

Volume = Length x Width x Height

The three measurements must be expressed in the same unit of measurement, whether in millimetres, centimetres or metres. If we do the calculation in centimetres, the volume will be in cubic centimetres (cm3); if we do it in metres, the product of the multiplication will be expressed in cubic metres (m3).

In the packaging world, it is common to use centimetres to calculate the volume of cardboard boxes:

Volume of a carton box (cm3) = Length (cm) x Width (cm) x Height (cm)

When it comes to optimising the packaging of your business, it will be of interest to you to know two types of volumes:

• Internal volume of a box. This is what is obtained by multiplying the inside measurements. It gives us an idea of the capacity of the packaging and the quantity of products it can hold.
• External volume of a box. This is calculated by taking the external measurements into consideration. The thicker the walls of a box, the more the external measurements will differ from the internal ones. It is a useful metric for managing the occupation of space in the warehouse and organising transport logistics.

Let’s look at a practical example. Let’s calculate the internal volume of a single RAJA corrugated cardboard box measuring 55 x 40 x 30 cm:

55 cm (length) x 40 cm (width) x 30 cm (height) = 66000 cm3

The internal volume of this packaging would be 66000 cubic centimetres.

How to calculate the volume of a box in litres

One of the most used measures to talk about volumes, besides the metre and the cubic centimetre, is the litre. But… how do you calculate the volume of a box in litres? Take the following into account:

1 cm3 = 1 ml

1000 cm3 = 1 l

1 m3 = 1000 l

Continuing with the previous example, what would be the volume of the 55 x 40 x 30 cm box in litres?

55 cm x 40 cm x 66000 cm3 = 66 000 cm3

The logic is simple. If 1000 cm3 equals one litre, 66000 cm3 is 66 litres.

What happens if we want to pass this information to kg? In that case, you have to take it into consideration:

1 l of water = 1 kg

But be careful, with liquids other than water this calculation no longer applies. The variation has to do with density. So a liquid like milk, which is denser than water, will weigh more; and another, like oil, which has a lower density, will weigh less.

Volumetric weight and volume of a box: are they the same?

The concept of the volume of a box is often confused with another widely used in the logistics sector: that of the volumetric weight to which we have dedicated a very complete post. It is a measurement used by carriers to calculate the space that goods occupy inside a means of transport (train, plane, van, etc.) based on their dimensions. In fact, it is this value that, together with the weight of the package, is taken as the basis for fixing the cost of postage.

The main difference between these two measures is that, while there is a single universal formula for calculating the volume of a box, there are several for determining volumetric weight, and they all involve the inclusion of additional coefficients in the multiplication, such as a conversion or the cubic capacity of the goods.

Of course, both concepts are directly related. Lower volume, lower volumetric weight and therefore lower shipping costs. Something you can start working on immediately by putting all our tips for reducing the size of your packaging in 5 steps into practice.

Now that you know how to calculate volume… are you looking for cardboard boxes for your business? At RAJA you’ll find what you need. We have over 900 Eco-Responsible formats , always in stock!