A partial load does not fill a trailer on its own. It shares capacity with other consignments travelling the same lane, so the figure that drives your cost is not the weight of the goods but the floor space they occupy.
Getting that measurement right at the outset is what separates a quote that holds from one that has to be rebuilt at the loading bay.
Loading metres: the working unit
On European lanes capacity is counted not in tonnes or cubic metres but in loading metres (ldm):
Loading metre = (length of the goods × width) ÷ 2.4
The 2.4 m divisor is the usable internal width of a standard European trailer. Hence:
- A standard EUR pallet measures 1200 × 800 mm. Through the formula, (1.20 × 0.80) ÷ 2.4 = 0.40 ldm.
- A 13.6 m curtainsider offers roughly 13.6 ldm, or 33 EUR pallets.
"We have ten pallets" is, operationally, a request for about four loading metres. Once that number is firm, so is the vehicle plan.
Weight or volume?
Whichever runs out first: a light, tall pallet is assessed on volume, a heavy, low one on weight. The practical density ceiling is around 1,850 kg per loading metre. Above it the combination reaches its maximum authorised weight — 40 tonnes for a five- or six-axle articulated vehicle under Council Directive 96/53/EC — before the floor is full.
The standard caps an EUR pallet's dynamic load at 1,500 kg. On groupage we prefer 800–1,000 kg per pallet, so the upper tier stays safe.
Why stackability is asked separately
Where another consignment can sit on top of yours, the same floor area is used twice, which moves both cost and departure date. Stackability is decided by:
- Whether the packaging carries a top load (shrink wrap, crates, carton strength)
- Whether anything overhangs the pallet footprint
- Whether the goods are fragile, sensitive or temperature-controlled
- Whether the top surface is flat
"Not stackable", told late, is discovered at the loading bay — and the plan changes there.
The eight things we ask before quoting
- Collection and delivery address — the address, not the city.
- Pallet or carton count with individual dimensions — per unit, not the total.
- Gross weight and cubic metres
- Loading metres, if known, or the pallet footprint
- Packaging type and stackability
- The date the goods will be ready
- Ramp, forklift or appointment conditions at delivery
- Incoterms, and how far the customs paperwork has progressed
Those eight settle vehicle type, consolidation point and drop sequence in the first conversation.
When the measurement moves
The capacity plan is built before departure. Where the goods measure more than declared, the reserved space is not enough and the plan has to be rebuilt — a waiting vehicle, or a place on the next departure. So we ask for a measured figure, not an estimate: telling us a figure is approximate beats a precise number that proves wrong.
Where the goods fill a trailer on their own, full truckload transport is usually the better fit; below that we weigh partial transport against groupage and consolidation. Send the dimensions and the ready date through the quote form.
