What is Dimensional weight?
Dimensional weight, also called DIM weight, is a pricing technique used for commercial freight transfer, including courier and postal services, which uses an estimated weight that is calculated from the length, width, and height of a package.
Since space on a delivery truck is limited, dimensional weight takes into account package density to determine shipping rates. Freight carriers calculate shipping charges based on whichever number is greater: the actual weight of the package or its calculated dimensional weight.
Within NextSmartShip pricing, when the dimensional weight is greater than the actual weight, the dimensional weight is used instead of the package's actual weight.
Dimensional weight = (length × width × height) / (dimensional factor).
As we have sourced all kinds of shipping carriers to fulfill our sellers' needs, each shipping carrier has a different dimensional factor. The dimensional factor could be 5000, 6000 or 8000 or other numbers. Usually, the dimensional factor of expresses like UPS, DHL and FedEx is 5000. When consulting shipping carriers, you can always ask NextSmartShip's fulfillment advisors for the details.