The cost of a lighter weight shipment (where volume exceeds actual weight) is determined by the amount of space the shipment occupies on our aircraft, rather than its actual weight. This is known as the volumetric (or dimensional) weight.

From 1st November 2008, DHL will be changing the conversion factor used when calculating the volumetric weight for shipments by air, from 6,000 to 5,000, so that the new formula for calculating volumetric weight will become :

length x width x height (cm) / 5000*

The method for calculating the space or volume that a shipment occupies has not changed for many years despite the fact that DHL is carrying greater numbers of lighter weight, low density, packages than ever before.

DHL believe these changes are necessary so that we can optimise our own aircraft capacity. Furthermore, we believe this will have a positive environmental impact by improving fuel efficiency and by encouraging our customers to use more compact and less wasteful packaging for their shipments

* If you measure in inches, the conversion factor is 305.