CASE STUDY: How to reduce dimensional weight shipping costs in 2021

Dimensional weight, commonly known as DIM weight, refers to the package’s volume. When you ship by air, using carriers such as FedEx, DHL, TNT, USPS, and other air cargo carriers, it is very likely you will be charged for the package’s volume.

Since 18 January 2010, shipments where dimensional weight exceeds actual weight are charged according to the following volumetric calculation.


Why is the industry changing to dimensional weight?

This question can best be answered by the carriers. According to a UPS press release, “recent ecommerce shipping trends have resulted in a decrease in package density. This trend causes cargo space to be less efficiently utilised, resulting in an increased cost per package.”

They go on to say that, “The company believes that as a result of the dimensional weight pricing method, more shippers will seek to optimise their packaging practices. These efforts will reduce excess packaging materials and overall package sizes, leading to related reductions in fuel use, vehicle emissions and transportation costs.”

In this article, we are going to calculate how every centimeter of your shipment increases shipping costs, especially when you are looking for cheap international shipping.


1st example:

According to the FedEx rates calculator, available here, we are going to explain how important it is to reduce every centimeter in length, width or height.


Let’s ship a box from Munich (Germany) to Sacramento (CA, USA).

BOX SIZE is 20 x 40 x 30cm.

FedEx rates calculator

FedEx shows following rates:
fedex costs

If we reduce just the height of our box by 5 centimeters, it makes a huge difference.

You can reduce shipping costs by more than 21,00 €.

Fedex calculator

2nd example:

Let’s look at another example. Let’s ship an item from Ljubljana (Slovenia) to Oak Park, California (USA) by DHL. 

Let’s use a larger shipping box compared to the previous example.

BOX SIZE: 20 x 30 x 60cm

dhl overseas rates

DHL rates are the following:

DHL rates

If we reduce the height by 10cm, DHL rates are the following:

Reduce DHL box

DHL rates reduce

As you can see, by reducing the box’s height by only 10cm, you can save more than 20,00 € on your shipping costs.


Conclusion: Use JustFoldMe perforated cardboard sheets

When it comes to dimensional weight, size matters. This means that you should evaluate your current packaging and find areas to downsize. At JustFoldMe we’ve developed a flexible shipping solution that helps you reduce dimensional weight. JustFoldMe cardboard sheets enable you to make more than 800 different size boxes.


Each cardboard sheet is perforated every inch (i.e. 2.5 cm), includes adhesive tape, and a safety blade for easy cutting and folding into the box into the desired size. Our innovative and patented design enables us to offer perforated cardboard boxes which are stronger and more durable than classic cardboard boxes.


Why is it so easy to use?

In addition to our innovative perforated cardboard sheets, you also get access to our mobile app with clear instructions and a step-by-step guide to folding the box to minimise DIM weight; input the product’s size into our app and it will calculate the ideal box size.

Follow these three easy steps, and your packaging is ready.




Author avatar
Rick Thompson