How do you calculate truck cube utilization?

Divide the loaded cargo cube by the usable trailer cube. With 3,000 ft³ loaded into 3,816 ft³ of usable trailer space, utilization is 3,000 ÷ 3,816 = 78.6%.

What is a good truck cube utilization percentage?

For dry van truckload freight, 85-90% cube is considered well-loaded; below 75% usually signals a consolidation or stacking opportunity. Our example at 78.6% sits 11.4 points under a 90% target.

Why is my trailer full but utilization is low?

The floor is full but the airspace above pallets is empty. Single-stacked, non-nestable, or fragile freight leaves headroom that the cube metric captures even when you can't add another pallet position.

Does cube utilization account for weight?

No. It only measures volume. A trailer can hit its 43,000-45,000 lb payload ceiling and still show low cube if the freight is dense, which is why you check both cube and weight utilization.

How do I close the gap to my target fill rate?

In our example you'd need to add roughly 416 ft³ (11.4 points of 3,816 ft³) to reach 90%. Options include double-stacking, re-palletizing to a tighter footprint, or consolidating a second order onto the same trailer.

What trailer cube should I use in the denominator?

Use usable cube, not nominal cube. A 53-ft dry van is often quoted near 3,816 ft³ usable after accounting for wall thickness, wheel wells, and load bars, which is lower than the raw interior multiplication.

Packaging & Logistics calculator

Truck Cube Utilization Calculator

Truck cube utilization tells you how much of a trailer's volumetric capacity a load actually consumes, expressed as a percentage of the usable cube. Shipping managers, freight brokers, and logistics planners use it to catch trailers that are 'full' on the floor but half-empty in the air, where light, bulky freight cubes out before it weighs out. Every percentage point of unused cube is a dollar of paid linehaul hauling nothing but air. Tracking it by lane and by SKU is how shippers decide when to double-stack, switch pallet patterns, or consolidate LTL into a truckload.

What this calculator does

See how fully a trailer or container is loaded by comparing loaded cube against available trailer cube, with the gap to target.
Use it to cut partial loads, decide between LTL and full truckload, and improve cube per shipment.
It computes what share of the trailer's usable cubic feet your loaded freight occupies, plus the point gap to your target fill rate.

Formula used

Truck cube utilization = loaded cube ÷ trailer cube available
Gap to target = target trailer utilization - truck cube utilization

Inputs explained

Loaded cargo cube on the trailer:
Usable trailer cube available:
Target trailer fill rate:

How to use the result

Use it during load planning and post-load audits to decide whether a trailer should carry more, be consolidated, or be re-slotted before dispatch.
Cube utilization ignores weight limits and axle distribution, so a load that cubes out at 79% may still be legally maxed on weight and impossible to fill further.

Current U.S. benchmarks

The producer price index for plastic resins and materials stands at 319.371 (BLS, May 2026), up 19.5% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.
On-highway diesel averages $4.58 per gallon this week (EIA), trending down over recent periods. Truck tonnage is up 3.4% year over year (ATA via FRED).
The producer price index for paperboard and containers stands at 276.831 (BLS, May 2026), up 8.8% from a year earlier. Quotes priced off last quarter's material cost miss this move.

Common questions

How do you calculate truck cube utilization? Divide the loaded cargo cube by the usable trailer cube. With 3,000 ft³ loaded into 3,816 ft³ of usable trailer space, utilization is 3,000 ÷ 3,816 = 78.6%.
What is a good truck cube utilization percentage? For dry van truckload freight, 85-90% cube is considered well-loaded; below 75% usually signals a consolidation or stacking opportunity. Our example at 78.6% sits 11.4 points under a 90% target.
Why is my trailer full but utilization is low? The floor is full but the airspace above pallets is empty. Single-stacked, non-nestable, or fragile freight leaves headroom that the cube metric captures even when you can't add another pallet position.
Does cube utilization account for weight? No. It only measures volume. A trailer can hit its 43,000-45,000 lb payload ceiling and still show low cube if the freight is dense, which is why you check both cube and weight utilization.
How do I close the gap to my target fill rate? In our example you'd need to add roughly 416 ft³ (11.4 points of 3,816 ft³) to reach 90%. Options include double-stacking, re-palletizing to a tighter footprint, or consolidating a second order onto the same trailer.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.