Multiply weight or volume by a mode-specific rate and distance, then add applicable fuel surcharges and fees.
Freight Cost Calculator
Freight shipping cost by mode — LTL, full truckload, container, air, sea or rail — from weight or volume and distance.
Estimating Freight Shipping Cost by Mode
Freight cost is calculated differently depending on shipping mode — LTL (less-than-truckload) uses a CWT-mile (hundredweight per hundred miles) rate, full truckload uses a straightforward rate per mile, ocean containers price by size, air freight bills by chargeable weight, and rail uses a ton-mile rate. This calculator covers all six modes, addressing related searches such as freight cost calculator, LTL shipping rate calculator, and container shipping cost estimator.
See the pallet shipping cost calculator on this site for per-pallet billed-weight pricing.
How the Freight Cost Calculator Works
LTL Formula
Estimated total = (Weight ÷ 100 lb) × (Miles ÷ 100) × CWT-mile rate × (1 + fuel surcharge)
Full Truckload Formula
Estimated total = Distance × Rate per mile × (1 + fuel surcharge)
Worked Example
A 2,000 lb LTL shipment traveling 500 miles at a $3.50 CWT-mile rate with a 20% fuel surcharge: (2,000 ÷ 100) × (500 ÷ 100) × 3.50 × 1.20 = 20 × 5 × 3.50 × 1.20 = $420.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is LTL freight priced by hundredweight and distance together?
LTL carriers combine multiple shippers’ freight on one truck, so pricing by CWT-mile (hundredweight moved per hundred miles) reflects both the weight your shipment occupies and how far it travels, rather than a flat per-mile rate that wouldn’t account for shared truck space.
What is a fuel surcharge and why is it separate from the base rate?
A fuel surcharge is an additional percentage added to the base freight rate that fluctuates with diesel fuel prices, letting carriers adjust for fuel cost changes without renegotiating base rates for every shipment.
Why does air freight use chargeable weight instead of actual weight?
Chargeable weight is the greater of a shipment’s actual weight or its dimensional (volumetric) weight, since bulky but light shipments still take up valuable cargo space on an aircraft — carriers bill based on whichever is higher.
Why do 40-foot containers cost more than double a 20-foot container?
This calculator’s typical size multiplier (a 40 ft container at roughly 1.7× a 20 ft container’s rate rather than 2×) reflects that ocean freight pricing isn’t purely linear with container volume — fixed terminal handling and vessel-space costs are spread differently across sizes.
Does rail freight typically cost less than truckload for long distances?
Rail is often more cost-effective per ton-mile than truckload for very long hauls of heavy, non-time-sensitive freight, though it usually takes longer and may need trucking on both ends to reach the rail terminal and final destination.
Which freight mode is fastest?
Air freight is typically the fastest option by a wide margin, followed by full truckload and LTL trucking, with ocean and rail freight generally being the slowest but most cost-effective for large, heavy, non-urgent shipments.
Do these rates include customs duties or import taxes?
No — this calculator estimates transport cost only; customs duties, import taxes, and clearance fees for international shipments are separate costs not included here (see the DDP price and FOB price calculators on this site for landed-cost estimates that include those factors).
