About

CubeFreight is a suite of five free, browser-based logistics calculators built around one idea: the decisions that quietly cost shippers the most money — the size of a carton, how it stacks, how a carrier converts space into a bill — are all geometry problems that should be easy to check before the freight invoice arrives.

The calculators

Carton 3D Calc designs a shipping carton around your product, accounts for board thickness and void fill, draws the RSC dieline, and searches arrangements to find the carton that loads the most units on a pallet. Pallet 3D Calc takes a fixed carton and pallet and finds the pattern that fits the most cartons, comparing interlocked against column stacking in 3D with a one-page loading report. LTL 3D Calc estimates the NMFC density-based freight class on both the classic and the 2025 13-sub scale, palletizes multi-item shipments, and previews truck loading. DIM Weight Calc converts parcel dimensions into the billable weight couriers actually charge, flags oversize and additional-handling thresholds, and compares carrier divisors side by side. CBM Calc computes cubic metres for ocean and air freight, applies the weight-or-measure rule, and converts to cubic feet.

How the numbers are produced

Every calculation runs locally in your browser in JavaScript. Nothing is uploaded, no account is required, and no dimensions or weights leave your device. The tools are deterministic: the same inputs always produce the same result, and each result page shows the intermediate values (volume, density, divisor, utilisation) so you can check the arithmetic rather than trust a black box.

The reference data behind the tools comes from published industry standards: NMFC density brackets and the 2025 13-sub classification scale for freight class, ISO and GMA pallet footprints (1200×1000, 1200×800, 1219×1016 mm) for palletizing, published US ground dimensional divisors such as 139 and 166 for parcel, and the IATA volumetric ratios of 5000 and 6000 cm³/kg for air freight. Where a figure changes periodically — surcharge thresholds and divisors in particular — the tools say so on the page and recommend confirming against your own carrier contract.

What these tools are not

The calculators are planning aids, not quotations. A freight class estimate is not a classification ruling, and a cost estimate is not a rate quote: actual charges depend on your carrier agreement, lane, service level, fuel surcharge, accessorials and destination fees. For binding classifications consult the NMFTA publication or your carrier; for binding rates, your carrier or broker.

Who runs it

CubeFreight is built and maintained independently by a developer working on free, practical logistics and packaging tools. It is not affiliated with the NMFTA, any carrier, freight broker, or any pallet or carton manufacturer, and the calculators do not favour any provider. A desktop-grade Pro version (mixed-SKU palletizing, double stacking, brick patterns, bulk exports) is in development; the free web calculators will stay free.

If you have questions, feedback, or found a calculation that looks wrong, the Contact page has the address — corrections are genuinely welcome and reported errors get fixed.