"Cubication" is a way of measuring volume in shipping or buying goods in bulk. The cubication determines how large the volume, or space in three dimensions, of a chest of goods when placed in a warehouse. Cubications can be calculated in cubic feet or cubic meters. In any given unit, even if the volume is known, we cannot know complete information about the other three dimensions. For example, we cannot know the length, width, or height of each chest. So, the actual dimensions of a crate can also be useful, and are usually listed in the item specification containing the box.
Step
Step 1. Measure the length, width, and height of one unit using inches or meters
- Using either unit, measure all dimensions using the same units.
- You can also measure units of goods using centimeters, but converting cubic centimeters to cubic meters (final units) is no easy task. Therefore, divide the measurement in centimeters by 100 to convert it to meters before continuing.
- The word "unit" refers to the unit of goods sold in packages. So, one bottle, box, or bag can become one unit. However, if the unit in question is sold in packs of 3 bottles, you must measure all 3 bottles, because they are in one package, to get the dimensions in calculating the cubication.
Step 2. Multiply the length, width, and height units
Step 3. Divide the result by 1728 if you use inches
The result is the cubication in cubic feet. If you measure in meters, division is not needed; cubication is obtained directly in square meters.
Step 4. Done
Tips
- Other information in the wholesale price/specification sheet usually includes unit weight and package weight, crate size, package dimensions or volume, and quantity in the package.
- If the company or distributor you purchased the goods from is an international distributor, the specification sheet may contain cubication, dimensions, weight, and other specifications in either metric or English units (meters and kilograms, or cubic feet and pounds).
- Information about the cubication of specific products can be helpful if you store crates in a warehouse, rather than opening chests and storing items individually. This information can also be used to calculate shipping costs, or the volume of a particular crate if put in a container.
- All fillers and other packaging requirements must be taken into account.
- Most wholesalers offer discounts when you buy per crate. However this is not useful if you don't have a place to store it, or you have to incur additional shipping costs due to the volume of crates used in shipping containers.
