How to Calculate the Case Cube of a Box

Edited by bbyrd009, Scott Cushman, Laura

"Case cube" is a measurement used in wholesale purchasing and shipping. The case cube denotes
how much volume, or 3-dimensional space, a case of any given item will take up in your
warehouse. The case cube may be measured in cubic feet or cubic meters. In both cases,
although the single case cube measurement tells you how much space the case takes up, it doesn't
break that information down into 3 dimensions. For example, how long, wide and tall each box
is. So knowing the actual dimensions of a case is useful too, and is usually included on any spec
or wholesale sheet that lists the case cube.
Steps
1.


1
Measure the length, width and height of a single unit in either inches or meters.
Whichever unit of measurement you use, measure all dimensions in the same unit of
measurement.
You could also measure the unit in centimeters, but converting centimeters cubed to
meters cubed (the final measurement) can be very cumbersome. Instead, divide the
centimeter measurements by 100 to convert them to meters before you move on.
The word "unit" refers to whatever quantity the item is being sold/packaged in. So a
single bottle, box or bag would be a unit. But if the item in question is being sold as a 3-
pack of bottles, you'd have to measure all 3 bottles, as they're packaged together, to get
the dimensions for calculating the case cube.


2
Multiply the length, width and height of the unit together.


3
Divide the result by 1728 if your measurements were in inches. The resulting number is the
case cube in feet cubed. If your measurements were in meters, no division is necessary; your
result is the case cube in meters cubed.


4
Finished.









Landed Costs Definition, example &
analysis of landed costs in freight forwarding
Posted January 8th, 2014
in Freight & Transportation
1

How much did that USD $10,000 commodity from overseas really cost?
One of the challenges for any organisation purchasing goods from overseas is to accurately identify the
actual cost of those goods when Landed into their store in Australia. For obvious reasons, this is often
referred to as the Landed Cost of the goods.
Unless goods are purchased on a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) basis, the initial purchase price of the goods
from an overseas supplier is never the actual cost of the goods.
In this article we will give you a simple and practical example of the sorts of charges that may be
incurred, and how they might be analysed and evaluated on a shipment by shipment basis.
The basics the diverse charges of Landed Costs and their definitions
International purchases incur many tangible and intangible costs that need to be taken into
consideration, with some examples as follows:
Origin charges: Packing, cartage to port, fumigation, documentation, Customs clearance and
export formalities
International freight charges: Air/Sea Freight, transit insurance, peak season surcharges,
security surcharges, loading and unloading charges
Destination charges: Port/Airline charges, Customs clearance, Quarantine, duty & barrier
clearance fees, fumigation, delivery cartage, unpack fees
In addition to the above, there are the intangible and unplanned or unexpected charges:
Exchange rate fluctuations
Storage and container detention
Waiting time and delays
Breakages and short shipment
Warranty allowances
Royalties and commissions
Unpack, receiving
Overheads
Lets get to business a real Landed Costs Analysis of a BCR freight customer
This is a landed costs calculation and report of a freight customer:

A Landed Cost Analysis using the values in the table above could look something like this:

This is a simple calculation where the duty is calculated per line, and all other landing charges are
amortized over the lines by invoice line value, ultimately providing a per unit Landed Cost.
Complex calculations can be done to more accurately allocate expenses. For example, freight
is often charged by weight or volume, and these charges can be allocated by the dimension or
weight of the cargo. This is particularly important when high-weight/low-value cargo is shipped
along with low-weight/high-value cargo.
Anything to consider about international transactions?
Landed Cost Analysis should also take into account the various exchange rates involved in a transaction,
where differing rates are used for the Supplier, Overseas exporter, Shipping Line/Airline and Customs
Value /Duty calculations.
Any additional figures and calculations concerning landed costs?
Additional calculations can be added to this analysis to allow for financing fees, annual insurance
allowances, general overheads, warranty, breakages, royalties and any other identified expenses.
And how about GST in the landed cost calculation?
Its important to note that while GST may be incurred and applicable to numerous of these expenses
above, except in certain circumstances, GST does not form part of the Landed Cost.
While Landed Cost Analysis can be as simple or as complex as required, at BCR we can assist with the
creation and consistent provision of this analysis on a shipment by shipment basis. In addition to
providing the Landed Cost analysis data using agreed calculations, the analysis can be provided in
printed, soft copy and/or any form of EDI/XML/CSV or other electronic delivery method. For further
information please contact us, we are more than happy to discuss the myriad of options available.
Remember the old saying: Why bark when you have a dog to do it for you?
Is your organisation adequately analysing all expenses related to your
international transactions?
If you enjoyed this article and would like to be frequently informed about the freight and logistics
industry, sign up for the free BCR newsletter.

About the Author
David Katte is the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Director and a co-founder of BCR
who has been with the company since 1983. He has been delivering financial, Landed Cost and
information systems solutions to BCR customers since 1985. David has been actively involved within the
industry for more than 30 years and was previously the Chairman of the Customs Brokers and
Forwarders Council of Australia.