GSM · cartons · CBM · containers · air
Knitwear carton & container calculator
Start from the garment, not the box: GSM and size give the weight, your carton gives the volume, and the planner works out cartons, containers and chargeable weight.
Per piece
172 g estimated + 20 g packing
- Cartons
- 100
- Carton gross weight
- 10.8 kg
- Total volume
- 9.6 m³
- Total gross weight
- 1,080 kg
- Air chargeable weight
- 1,600 kg
- Courier chargeable weight
- 1,920 kg
- Sea LCL (revenue tons)
- 9.6
| Container | Pieces per container | Containers for this order |
|---|---|---|
| 20ft standard | 14,600 | 1 |
| 40ft standard | 29,650 | 1 |
| 40ft high cube | 33,600 | 1 |
Estimates for planning. Your forwarder’s quote and your factory’s packing list are what count.
Questions
How the numbers work.
How is the garment weight estimated?
Weight ≈ fabric GSM × the fabric area the garment uses. From our own weighing, a 180 gsm T-shirt is about 155 g in M, 172 g in L and 190 g in XL, each size step changes weight by about 10%, and polos run 30–60 g heavier for the collar, placket and buttons. The full method is in our weight guide. If you have weighed a sample, type its weight in and the planner uses that instead.
How many T-shirts fit in a container?
It depends on the carton, not only the garment. With the example carton (60 × 40 × 40 cm, 50 tees, 85% load factor) a 40ft standard container takes about 29,650 tees, in line with the 25,000–30,000 in our weight guide. Change the carton to your packing list to get your own figure.
Why is the load factor a slider?
Carriers publish nominal volume (33 m³, 67 m³ and 76 m³ for 20ft, 40ft and 40ft high cube in Maersk’s specification), not how much you can actually load. Forwarders plan on a share of that, often about 80–90%, depending on carton sizes and how the boxes are stacked.
What is chargeable weight?
Air and courier freight bill the greater of actual weight and volume weight. Air cargo uses volume in cm³ ÷ 6,000 (the IATA standard); express couriers such as DHL Express use ÷ 5,000. Knitwear is light for its volume, so the volume weight often wins.
How heavy should a carton be?
UK HSE guidance on manual handling gives up to 25 kg for men and 16 kg for women as a lifting guideline in the best zone, and says these are not safe limits. Many buyers set a maximum carton weight in their packing instructions, so check yours.
Sources & last verified
Page facts checked
We link every trade claim to the body that publishes it — official sources first. Rules change; if you spot something out of date, tell us.
- 01 Manual handling at work (INDG143): lifting risk filter, up to 25 kg (men) and 16 kg (women) in the best zone; guidelines, not safe limits UK Health and Safety Executive · official · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 02 Service & Rate Guide 2025: volumetric weight = L × W × H (cm) ÷ 5,000 per piece; maximum 70 kg per piece DHL Express · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 03 CBM calculator: usable container space is a little over 80% of nominal volume (rule of thumb) Freightos · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 04 Container specification (dry containers: internal dimensions, capacity and payload) Hapag-Lloyd · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 05 Air cargo tariffs and rules: chargeable weight uses volume in cm³ divided by 6,000 IATA · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 06 Dry container equipment specifications: internal dimensions, volume (20ft 33 m³, 40ft 67 m³, 40ft HC 76 m³) and max payload Maersk · checked 30 Sept 2026
- 07 Transportation conversion tables: sea LCL weight/measure, 1,000 kg or 1 cubic metre Shapiro · checked 30 Sept 2026
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