Freight is one of the biggest hidden line items in a landed cost, and it only really makes sense per garment. Divide a total shipping bill — or build it from a sea rate ($/CBM) or an air rate ($/kg) — by your order units to see exactly what shipping adds to each piece. The maths is exact, but it covers freight only and excludes duty, insurance and customs.
⚠️ Freight only — this is not a landed cost. Enter your own figures: the rate per CBM or per kilo from a forwarder's quote, or the total freight bill, plus the units in the shipment. The rate and total fields start empty — we don't assume a market freight rate. The maths is exact, but the answer is only as good as the numbers you provide, and it excludes import duty and tariff, cargo insurance, customs brokerage and last-mile delivery. For a true cost per garment, add those on top — or use the Knitwear Cost Calculator. Always confirm your rate and chargeable basis with your freight forwarder before booking.
A freight quote arrives as a lump sum, or as a rate per CBM for sea or per kilo for air — but what you actually need for pricing is the freight cost carried by one garment. This tool converts either form into a clean per-unit number, so you can drop shipping into your cost sheet and see what it adds to each piece. Choose how your freight is quoted, enter your figures, and the result updates as you type.
Two ways to use it. If you already have the total freight bill, enter it directly and divide by your units. If you only have a rate, let the tool build the bill first: sea rate ($/CBM) × your total CBM, or air rate ($/kg) × your chargeable weight — then divide by units. Both routes reach the same place.
Nothing here is hidden or invented. The exact maths is:
Freight per unit = total freight ÷ total units
Sea: total freight = rate per CBM × total CBM
Air: total freight = rate per kg × chargeable weight (kg)
Worked example: enter a $2,400 total freight bill over 1,000 units and you get $2.40 of freight per garment. Build the same shipment from a sea rate instead — 1.92 CBM × $1,250/CBM = $2,400 — and dividing by 1,000 units gives the identical $2.40 per unit. Switch to air and, say, 240 kg chargeable at $4.50/kg is $1,080, or $1.08 per unit. The rate and total fields start blank — put in the $/CBM, $/kg or total from your own forwarder's quote and the numbers follow.
Freight is the transport charge — nothing more. Depending on your Incoterm it runs port-to-port or door-to-door, but it never includes import duty or tariff, cargo insurance, customs clearance, destination terminal handling or last-mile delivery. Those can add as much again to a low-value knit, so the per-unit freight figure is an input to landed cost, not the answer. Because knitwear is light and bulky, sea LCL almost always prices on volume (CBM, or weight-or-measure with 1 CBM counted as 1,000 kg) and air prices on volumetric weight — which is why right-sizing the export carton often cuts freight per unit more than shaving weight ever will. Work the freight number here, then carry it into a full cost sheet for the real cost per garment.
Freight cost per unit is your total freight bill divided by the total number of units shipped. If you don't have one lump-sum figure yet, build it from your quote's rate: for sea LCL, multiply the rate per CBM by your total CBM; for air, multiply the rate per kilo by your chargeable weight — then divide by units. For example, a $2,400 sea bill over 1,000 units is $2.40 of freight per garment, and the same $2,400 built as 1.92 CBM × $1,250/CBM gives the identical $2.40 per unit.
Use whichever your carrier prices on. LCL sea freight is billed on volume (rate per CBM, or "weight or measure" where 1 CBM counts as 1,000 kg), so use your total CBM. Air freight is billed on chargeable weight — the greater of actual and volumetric weight — so use the rate per kilo against your chargeable kilos. Knitwear is light and bulky, so sea usually prices on CBM and air on volumetric weight. Our Carton & CBM and Air Freight Chargeable Weight calculators produce those inputs.
No. This tool covers freight only — the transport charge for your chosen Incoterm (port-to-port or door-to-door). It does not include import duty or tariff, cargo insurance, customs brokerage, destination handling or last-mile delivery. To reach a true landed cost per garment, add those on top of the freight-per-unit figure; the Knitwear Cost Calculator brings the full picture together.
Use your own numbers from a freight forwarder's quote — the rate per CBM or per kilo, or the total bill. At Kiwi Giyim we confirm the exact export-carton dimensions, CBM and gross weight at the sampling stage, so you can price freight against real cartons rather than guesses, on orders from our MOQ of 250 pieces per colour upward. Until you have a quote, enter a realistic estimate — this tool only does the maths on the values you give it and invents no rates.
Related free tools: Carton & CBM Shipment Calculator and Air Freight Chargeable Weight Calculator — or browse all free tools.