How do you calculate loading metres?

Multiply the floor length by the width the goods take up, in metres, and divide by 2.4, the usual inside width of a trailer. A Euro pallet of 1.2 × 0.8 m is 0.4 LDM.

How many Euro pallets fit on a 13.6 m trailer?

Thirty-three on the floor, or 34 when oriented optimally, according to the forwarder Emons — 13.2 to 13.6 loading metres.

How many kilograms is one loading metre?

It depends on the carrier and the country. Published factors range from 1,250 kg (Schenker's German domestic terms) to 1,850 kg (Posti in Finland; Raben for Norway).

Term

Loading metre (LDM)

A loading metre (LDM) is one metre of a truck's load floor across its full width, about 2.4 m. European road carriers use it to price part loads that take up floor space: a Euro pallet is 0.4 LDM and a standard 13.6 m semi-trailer holds 33 of them. Carriers convert loading metres into a chargeable weight.

Also called LDM, loading meter, pallet metre, ldm calculationApplies in EU, UKUpdated 12 October 2026

How to calculate it

LDM = length (m) × width (m) ÷ 2.4 · Euro pallet: 1.2 × 0.8 ÷ 2.4 = 0.4 LDM

A standard semi-trailer offers 13.6 loading metres; Emons puts it at 33 Euro pallets, or 34 oriented optimally.

The loading metre exists because a pallet that cannot have anything stacked on it uses the whole height above its footprint — the floor space, not its weight or volume, is what the carrier can no longer sell.

From loading metres to chargeable weight

Carrier	1 LDM counts as	1 m³ counts as
Posti (Finland)	1,850 kg	333 kg
Schenker Deutschland, domestic	1,250 kg	250 kg
Raben Lietuva, by destination	1,250 to 1,850 kg	—

Each carrier publishes its own factors, and they vary by country

The carrier charges on whichever is highest — actual weight, volume weight or loading-metre weight.

So the loading metre decides the bill only for freight that runs out of floor before it runs out of payload — long, light or non-stackable goods. Dense, low freight is billed on its actual weight, and the factor never comes into it.

Worked example

Four Euro pallets that cannot be stacked weigh 2,000 kg in total.

4 × 0.4 = 1.6 LDM · At 1,850 kg/LDM: 2,960 kg chargeable · At 1,250 kg/LDM: 2,000 kg — the actual weight

The same freight is billed as 2,960 kg by one carrier and 2,000 kg by another. Compare quotes on chargeable weight, not on the rate per kilo.

The mistake people make

Declaring pallets wrongly as stackable or not. Carriers re-measure — Raben's terms recalculate the price on the actual parameters when they differ — and a non-stackable pallet booked as stackable takes the floor space it was never charged for.

FAQ