Calculate the loading meters required for your freight. Get a quick floor-space estimate for pallets and cargo, then check the actual arrangement in a practical 3D load plan.
Calculate Loading MetersCheck the Load in 3DEnter the cargo footprint, quantity and the selected trailer’s internal width.
10 × (1.20 × 0.80 / 2.40) = 4.00 LDM
This is a floor-space reference. It does not guarantee that the cargo physically fits in the selected vehicle.
Calculate LDM, use it to estimate floor-space demand, then open the 3D planner to verify physical fit, height, weight and indicative axle distribution. LDM is useful for freight quotations, but it does not replace a vehicle-specific plan.
Check the Load in 3DOne Euro pallet with a 1.20 × 0.80 m footprint is approximately 0.40 LDM using a 2.40 m reference width. Ten Euro pallets are approximately 4.00 LDM. Use these figures as a quotation and floor-space screen, then verify the physical load.
Freight forwarders, transport planners, quotation teams and dispatch teams can use LDM to communicate an early floor-space estimate before the vehicle and cargo arrangement are final.
Read what LDM means, compare LDM with CBM, then continue to the truck loading planner when vehicle fit and loading order matter.
LDM means loading meter or loading metre. It measures approximate trailer floor-space usage along the loading length, taking the cargo footprint and the trailer’s usable internal width into account. It is commonly used in road freight because it gives planners and freight forwarders a quick way to compare non-stackable or floor-dominant cargo with available vehicle space.
LDM is based on area rather than three-dimensional volume. That makes it useful for a first quotation or capacity conversation, but it is not a complete physical loading simulation. Cargo can have the same LDM estimate and still require different arrangements because of its shape, orientation, access or delivery order.
For a simple rectangular item or pallet, use:
LDM = (Cargo Length × Cargo Width) / Trailer Internal Width
Use consistent units, such as metres. With a reference trailer width of 2.40 m, a 1.20 m × 0.80 m Euro pallet produces 0.40 LDM: (1.20 × 0.80) / 2.40 = 0.40. Actual internal vehicle width can vary, so use the selected vehicle’s real dimensions when the plan matters.
One standard Euro pallet has a 1.20 m × 0.80 m footprint. The simple estimate is 0.40 LDM using a 2.40 m reference width. Ten Euro pallets therefore produce 4.00 LDM as a floor-space estimate. That does not mean ten pallets will always fit without gaps or that they can be placed in any orientation.
LDM means loading meter. It estimates the share of trailer floor length used across the usable trailer width.
Multiply cargo length by cargo width, divide by trailer internal width, and multiply by quantity.
Using 1.20 m × 0.80 m and a 2.40 m reference width, one Euro pallet is approximately 0.40 LDM.
A 13.6 m trailer provides approximately 13.6 loading meters as a floor-length reference, subject to its actual usable dimensions.
No. LDM describes floor-space usage; CBM describes three-dimensional cargo volume.
No. It is an estimate and does not prove physical fit, weight balance, loading order or vehicle-specific feasibility.