Sometimes, people in the moving or shipping industry, use a term of measurement, that for whatever, reason,
they never seem to ever define. Does anyone know the definition of a cube, is? The simple answer is no. There
is no such thing, unless you are referring to some sort of object…..
The cubic foot, is a standard of measurement, often used in air shipments, ocean shipments and as a means of
alternative calculations for weight. It has to do with density. Still confused, me too….
Here is some truth to add to this discussion. Movers have used cubic footage pre set measurements, for quite a
long time to actually measure a potential customer’s goods so that they can give an estimate to someone who is
moving….allow me to shed some light to this matter
Mover have used a cube sheet, which lists furniture items, organized into small groups by room designations:
…a dining table is listed among the dining room options, and chairs, with or without arms, and china cabinets
are also on this list…..and any other items that relate to a dining room. Likewise, in the bedroom sections of the
movers cube sheet, there are items like beds of different sizes, dressers, mirrors, nightstands, etc.
Movers have agreed, that each items has a preset designation of cubic footage next to it: like a dresser would be
30 cube or 40 cube, and a nightstand would be 15 cube, for example. When the mover gets through walking through
the home, asking if this item is going or not going, he is checking to include or exclude a particular item, and at the end
of the process, he or she will add up the cubic footage, cumulatively, and then use a weight factor to multiply against
the cubic footage count.
For example, if you have 800 cubic feet on your load or move, movers generally use a factor of 7 pounds per cubic foot,
so in this case, the move is estimated at 5600 pounds. This is the secret to how movers estimate your home, for cost
purposes, as when the mover comes for this kind of (long distance) move, the mover will weigh his truck prior to the move
for the empty weight, and after the shipment is loaded, the mover gets another weight (heavy) and the difference is the
total weight of the shipment that is being moved.
The problems do come as a result of customers not getting rid of things, finding more items to move than they told the estimator
about, of maybe the estimate was off, as this is possible, but the larger the shipment, the less this does happen provided that
conditions have stayed the same.
The real issue with cubic footage, is that no one understands how to measure it, as the moving or shipping van, counts from floor
of the van to the ceiling, so when a “mover” tries to sell you space on a cubic footage basis, more often than not, if you as the customer
have to load the shipment, you will end up with more cubic footage, as it is hard for the consumer to know how to load a truck like
a professional does. The customer ends up, usually, looking for a bargain and he or she gets just the opposite.
Movers, professional movers, have cubic footage measurements, like a ruler, that run across the length of the trailer so they can,
at a glimpse, see how the shipment looks, packed in the truck, as if the shipment is scheduled for say, 300 cubic feet or 2100
pounds (7 lbs per cubic foot, general rule). If the shipment takes more than 300 cubic feet, then something is amiss.
But generally, charging for domestic transportation by selling it on a cube basis, is nothing more than a trick as the only way
you can get a good pricing result is if you have good density, like just boxes of bricks, they are small and weigh a lot and if stacked
floor to ceiling, that shipment will take less space than one that does not have that density nor the ability to stack furniture safely,
floor to ceiling. This is what the movers, in my opinion, do wrong, they do not stress that professionals, can save the customer
not only money, but a lot of heartache in the moving process.
O’h yea, cube = Length x Width x Height…….divided by 1728 (which is the number of cubic inches in a cubic foot)…
we have a table that is 72 inches long and 48 inches wide, and 36 inches tall, you would do it this way: 72x48x36 divided by 1728
equals 72 cubic feet……I just hope most of you are not sorry you asked this question………
Mark S. Frydman
Box Brothers Corp.
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