What is Air Chargeable Weight

In air freight, understanding the relationship between Actual Weight, Volumetric Weight, and Air Chargeable Weight is crucial. These concepts affect not only the cost of shipping but also the method of transportation.

In moving /relocation world, these concepts are confusing to assignees sometimes, hence we are coming up this article for you to better comprehend them.

What is Air Chargeable Weight ?

Air Chargeable Weight (known as ACW)is the weight used to calculate the shipping cost, which is the greater of the actual weight or the volumetric weight.

Airlines use this strategy to compensate for the space occupied by light but bulky cargo. The formula to determine the chargeable weight is:

Air Chargeable Weight=Actual Weight, Volumetric Weight, whichever is greater.

Therefore, we need to understand what are Actual Weight and Volumetric Weight, and here are the answers.

Actual Weight

Actual Weight refers to the physical weight of the cargo, usually measured in kilograms (kg) or pounds (lbs). This is the weight determined when the cargo is placed on a scale.

Volumetric Weight

Volumetric Weight, also known as dimensional weight, is a calculated weight based on the cargo's volume using a standard conversion formula. Airlines use volumetric weight to assess the space occupied by the cargo. For light but bulky items, the volumetric weight may be higher than the actual weight. The formula for calculating volumetric weight is:

Here, 6000 is a commonly used conversion factor. Different airlines might use slightly different factors, such as 5000 or 7000. In moving and relocation, 6000 is mostly commonly used.

Alternatively, we could use this formula, which is much easier to use and memorize:

Volumetric Weight (kg)=Volume in Cubic Meters x 167.

Example of the Relationship

Assume there is a cargo with an actual weight of  240 kg  actual as weight and dimensions of 120cm x 100cm x 160cm. The volumetric weight is calculated as:

L:120 cm /W:100 cm /H:160 cm

Therefore, the Chargeable Weight of this cargo is the latter of the Actual Weight and Volumetric Weight, which is 320 kg.