Loading Metre Calculator for Trucks: 3D Load Planning for Trailers, Vans and Containers
Plan loads for semi-trailers, drawbar combinations, rigid trucks, vans and shipping containers in a 3D view. The loading metre calculator shows LDM by formula, the deck length actually used, weight and height in real time. Made for freight forwarders, dispatchers and shippers.
Worked example: 50 Euro pallets in a 13.60 m semi-trailer
Here the loading metre calculator loads 50 Euro pallets, each 120 cm long, 80 cm wide and 100 cm high. Stacked two high, they only need 25 floor spaces.
The 25 floor spaces take up 10.80 m of loading length out of 13.60 m: nine rows of 1.20 m, with just one pallet in the last row. Using the formula length × width ÷ 2.40 m, that comes to 10.00 loading metres. The calculator shows both figures. Double-stacked, the load is 200 cm high, well within the 270 cm internal height. 71 per cent of the floor is used; the rest is free for groupage on the same lane.
How loading metres are calculated
Loading metres, LDM for short, are the standard unit for freight space in road haulage. One loading metre is one metre of deck length across the full width of the vehicle, taken as 2.40 metres.
The formula is length × width ÷ 2.40 m. A Euro pallet to EN 13698-1, measuring 1.20 × 0.80 m, equals 0.40 LDM. Three pallets loaded lengthwise side by side take up 1.20 m of deck and also come to 1.20 LDM by formula; two pallets loaded crosswise take up 0.80 m. Differences appear with incomplete rows, which is why the calculator shows loading metres by formula with the deck length actually used underneath.
Vehicle types and load capacities
From vans to road trains, internal dimensions and payloads vary a lot. Maximum external dimensions across the EU are set by Directive 96/53/EC, including 2.55 m width, 4.00 m height and up to 16.50 m length for an articulated vehicle. That is where the standard curtainsider comes from, with a 13.60 m deck and around 2.70 m internal height: it takes 33 Euro pallets on the floor and a payload of around 24 tonnes.
A mega trailer offers around 100 cubic metres thanks to its 3.00 m internal height. Jumbo drawbar combinations have two separate decks, usually 7.75 m each, with up to 38 pallet spaces; the calculator spreads the load across both decks without loading across the gap. Rigid distribution trucks, curtain-side vans and shipping containers are included too.
Workflow with radius search and EU coverage
The calculator is most useful together with accurate location data. With our postcode radius search you can work out distances and catchment areas around your loading points to the kilometre.
For international and cross-border part loads, our EU country overview shows postcode systems across Europe, so you can coordinate routes across borders.