The first thing you need to understand is what the volumetric weight of the cargo is, and how it affects the cost of air transportation. Knowing this nuance, you will have the opportunity to correctly determine the upcoming costs of air logistics.
For air transportation, according to the rules of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the weight of 1 cubic meter of cargo is taken as 167 kg.

Length(100cm)*Width(100cm)*Height(100cm)/6000

This ratio is used by airlines because, with a lower density of cargo, air transportation would be unprofitable for them. So, if the cargo board was filled with light but bulky cargo, for example, packs of napkins, and the calculation of the cost of transportation per kg was based on physical weight, the transportation would be unprofitable for the airline, since most of the volume of the aircraft would be used almost in vain.
To calculate the volumetric weight, there are two formulas, regardless of the use of which, you can determine the volumetric weight.
The first formula has already been mentioned above, and to calculate the volumetric weight specifically for your cargo, you just need to substitute the appropriate dimensions (length, width, height) in centimeters.
To calculate the volumetric weight using the second formula, we need to know the volume of the package or packages in cubic meters. This volume is multiplied by the coefficient of 167 already known to us and the same volumetric weight is obtained.

However, having determined the volumetric weight, you should not immediately multiply it by the rate per kilogram to determine the cost of air freight, since there is also such a thing as a paid weight.


The billable weight is the final figure that can be used to calculate the cost of air transportation and is determined by the largest of the physical and volumetric weight.
Thus, returning to our example, it can be argued that the chargeable weight will be 112 kg, only if the physical weight is less. If a box with such dimensions weighs, say, 150 kg, then the paid weight will be determined by the physical as large.
As you can see, concepts such as volume, physical and billable weights are key in calculating the cost of air freight. That is why it is important to know the weight, dimensions, and volume of cargo when sending requests to representatives of logistics companies.