The calculation, without hidden assumptions
Convert a pallet or cargo footprint into the loading-metre convention used in European road freight. MAXScanner keeps the 2.4 m LDM divisor separate from actual equipment dimensions, shows the floor positions created by safe stacking, and can apply your own rate per LDM without inventing a carrier tariff.
How to use this calculator
Measure the greatest cargo or pallet footprint, including overhang and projections.
Enter the number of identical units and choose the dimension unit.
Leave stack layers at 1 unless the freight can safely carry another unit and the equipment has enough height.
Review occupied floor area, LDM and nominal trailer utilization.
If you have a quoted rate per LDM, enter it for a transparent arithmetic estimate; confirm carrier rounding and minimum charges separately.
Where people use it
- •Estimate European road-freight floor-space consumption before requesting a quote.
- •Compare Euro, UK/FIN or custom pallet footprints using their actual dimensions.
- •See how approved double stacking changes required floor positions.
- •Convert warehouse inch or centimetre measurements into the standard LDM convention.
- •Apply a carrier-provided per-LDM rate without treating it as a universal market price.
10 Euro pallets, 120 × 80 cm, non-stackable
Each footprint is 1.20 × 0.80 = 0.96 m². Ten floor positions occupy 9.60 m². 9.60 ÷ 2.4 = 4.00 LDM. If those same 10 pallets are safely double-stacked, ceil(10 ÷ 2) = 5 floor positions and the estimate becomes 2.00 LDM.
What the result does not assume
- •The 2.4 m divisor is the European loading-metre convention; do not silently replace it with a measured trailer width.
- •Stacking reduces floor positions only when load-bearing strength, height, handling and carrier rules permit it.
- •Use the greatest real footprint including overhang. Freight that blocks adjacent floor space may be rated differently by the carrier.
- •LDM is floor-space arithmetic, not a load-securing, axle-weight, dangerous-goods or equipment-clearance approval.
- •Rates, minimums, rounding and weight conversions vary by carrier and lane. The optional rate field uses only the value you enter.
Frequently asked questions
What is 1 LDM?+
One loading metre represents one metre of trailer length across the conventional 2.4 m freight width, equivalent to 2.4 m² of floor area.
How many LDM is one Euro pallet?+
A 1.20 × 0.80 m Euro-pallet footprint is 0.96 m². Dividing by 2.4 gives 0.40 LDM when it occupies its own floor position.
Why does MAXScanner use 2.4 m instead of the trailer actual width?+
LDM is a standardized freight convention. Using a different measured width changes the billing-style unit and makes comparisons inconsistent.
Does double stacking halve LDM?+
For an even number of identical safely stackable units, two layers halve the floor positions. For odd quantities the calculator rounds floor positions up, so the result is not always exactly half.
Is LDM the same as CBM?+
No. LDM measures trailer floor space; CBM measures three-dimensional volume. Tall and short pallets with the same footprint can have the same LDM but different CBM.
Is LDM the same as US LTL linear feet?+
No. They solve related floor-space problems but use different market conventions. Use the separate LTL Linear Feet Calculator for US-style trailer row planning.
Semantic next steps
Continue the calculation
These links move to a different input, formula or project stage rather than a keyword variation of this page.
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Keep the result connected to the real job
MAXScanner keeps the formula and assumptions beside the result so you can verify the number before using it in a drawing, estimate, specification, worksheet or document. Where a supplier, manufacturer, drawing or applicable standard owns a requirement, that source remains authoritative.