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wikiHow to Calculate the Case Cube of a Box

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"Case cube" is a measurement used in wholesale purchasing and shipping. The case cube denotes how much volume, or 3-dimensional space, a case of any given item will take up in your warehouse. The case cube may be measured in cubic feet or cubic meters. In both cases, although the single case cube measurement tells you how much space the case takes up, it doesn't break that information down into 3 dimensions. For example, how long, wide and tall each box is. So knowing the actual dimensions of a case is useful too, and is usually included on any spec or wholesale sheet that lists the case cube.


  1. 1
    Measure the length, width and height of a single unit in either inches or meters.
    • Whichever unit of measurement you use, measure all dimensions in the same unit of measurement.
    • You could also measure the unit in centimeters, but converting centimeters cubed to meters cubed (the final measurement) can be very cumbersome. Instead, divide the centimeter measurements by 100 to convert them to meters before you move on.
    • The word "unit" refers to whatever quantity the item is being sold/packaged in. So a single bottle, box or bag would be a unit. But if the item in question is being sold as a 3-pack of bottles, you'd have to measure all 3 bottles, as they're packaged together, to get the dimensions for calculating the case cube.
  2. 2
    Multiply the length, width and height of the unit together.
  3. 3
    Divide the result by 1728 if your measurements were in inches. The resulting number is the case cube in feet cubed. If your measurements were in meters, no division is necessary; your result is the case cube in meters cubed.
  4. 4

Community Q&A

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  • My tutor did not explain why I had to divide by 1724 to arrive at the answer. How can I understand this problem?
    wikiHow Contributor
    You need to divide by 1728, not 1724. A cubic foot is a cube with sides 12" (1 foot) long. In inches, the volume is 12" x 12" x 12", or 1728".
  • Why do you divide by 1728?
    wikiHow Contributor
    1728 is the conversion of one cubic foot to inches. 12" x 12 "x 12" = 1728" cubed Dividing by 1728 converts your measurement from cubic inches to cubic feet.
  • How do I calculate the volume of a sphere?
    wikiHow Contributor
    This is the formula: V=4/3 πr3. (Four divided by three, multiplied by pi, multiplied by radius cubed.)
  • How do I find the value of the following without using a calculator? (1 2/3)3
    wikiHow Contributor
    You first convert the number in the brackets from a mixed number - 1 2/3 - to a fraction. To do this, you have to multiply the whole number (1 in this case) by the denominator (3 in this case) and add it to the numerator (2 in this case). So 1 2/3 becomes 1 x 3 + 2 = 5, while the denominator does not change, giving you 5/3. When you multiply fractions, you do it as numerator-times-numerator, denominator-times-denominator. you are multiplying 5/3 by 3 (which has a denominator of 1, like all whole numbers - 3/1). So to multiply 5/3 by 3/1, it's 5 x 3 over 3 x 1. This gives us 15/3. Since 3 goes into 15 five times, another way to write 15/3 is 5. That's the answer.
  • How do I calculate the cubic footage of a wooden pallet?
    The pallet itself does not have a volume (cubic footage) in any practical sense. It's two-dimensional and therefore has an area (length x width). Whatever sits on the pallet will have a volume which can be found by multiplying its base area by its height.
  • For an 82x36x22 wooden case, what are the cubic feet?
    Multiply the three dimensions together. If they are in inches, you'll get cubic inches. To find cubic feet, divide by 1,728.
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  • Other information usually included on a wholesale pricing/specs sheet is: unit weight and case weight, case dimensions, unit dimensions or volume, and case pack, or how many units are included per case.
  • If the company or distributor you're purchasing from deals in international sales, the spec sheet will probably include the case cube, dimensions, weight and other specifications in both metric and Imperial measurements (cubic meters and kilograms, feet cubed and pounds, respectively).
  • Knowing the case cube for a given product is most useful if you're warehousing cases, instead of opening the cases and storing or stocking units individually. But it's also of use when you're calculating shipping costs, or the amount of room a certain number of cases take into a given shipping container.
  • All additional padding or other necessary packing/shipping materials must also be taken into consideration.
  • Most wholesalers offer discounts when you purchase by the case. But that won't do you any good if you don't have room to store the product because of its size, or if you incur extra shipping costs because of the actual room the whole case takes in the shipping container.

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Categories: Calculating Volume and Area | Business

In other languages:

Español: calcular las medidas de empaque de una caja, Русский: посчитать объем упаковки, Italiano: Calcolare il Volume Occupato da una Cassa

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