Magento Open Source, 1.9.x

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Dimensional Weight

Dimensional weight, sometimes called volumetric weight, is a common industry practice that bases the transportation price on a combination of weight and package volume. In simple terms, dimensional weight is used to determine the shipping rate based on the amount of space a package occupies in the cargo area of the carrier. Dimensional weight is typically used when a package is relatively light compared to its volume.

All major carriers now apply dimensional weight to some shipments. However, the manner in which dimensional weight pricing is applied varies from one carrier to another.

We recommend that you become familiar with the method used by each carrier to determine and apply dimensional weight. If your company has a high volume of shipments, even a slight difference in shipping price can translate to thousands of dollars over the course of a year.

Magento’s native shipping configuration does not include support for dimensional weight. However, WebShopApps has developed a Dimensional Shipping extension that manages rates for FedEx, UPS, and USPS. WebShopApps is a Magento Technology Partner.