How is air shipping cost calculated?
This is how air shipping chargeable weight is calculated.
- Air shipping chargeable weight is whichever is larger between actual weight and volumetric weight
- Volumetric weight is calculated by this formula: (length × width × height in inches) / 306 = volumetric weight in kilos.
- Ocean shipping is charged based on volume only. The formula is (length × width × height in inches) / 1,728 × $35
Air shipping cost is calculated by comparing whichever is larger between actual weight and volumetric weight.
Whichever is larger becomes your chargeable weight, then you multiply that by $17.99 to get the shipping cost.
How is volumetric weight calculated?
To make it simple, when shipping from the U.S. to Kenya, where we use inches and pounds, the direct conversion from inches to kilos is length × width × height in inches / 306.
The answer you get is volume weight in kilos.
What is actual weight, and how is it calculated?
In the shipping industry, actual weight is also called dead weight. This simply means that when you put that item on the scale, the weight you see in kilos is your actual or dead weight in kilos.
If you are shipping an item like a TV from the US to Kenya, you're going to notice that a TV has a lot of volume compared to how much it weighs. In such a situation, you are charged based on volumetric weight in air shipping.
If you were to ship a mattress by air, you would realize it only makes sense to ship a mattress by ocean because of volumetric weight.
Small, compact, and dense items like phones and laptops are charged based on the actual weight.
How do I avoid being charged based on volumetric weight?
In most situations, there is not so much you can do. For example, you are not going to make a TV shrink in size. It is only prudent to ship such items by ocean.
On the other hand, repackaging and consolidating goods may help slightly reduce volumetric weight. There are situations where a few dense items would balance out the volume or the volumetric weight of other items when repackaged.
How is volumetric weight calculated in ocean shipping?
In ocean shipping, volumetric weight is calculated by the following formula: (length × width × height) / 17,280. The answer you get is in cubic feet, and then you multiply that by $35 per cubic foot to get your ocean shipping chargeable cost.