Freight rate per cwt calculator: hundredweight, per pound and flat, in one place

Freight rates come in different units: per hundredweight on an LTL tariff, per pound on a quote, a flat total on a truckload offer. Comparing them by eye is how mistakes happen. This freight rate per cwt calculator links all three. Type the rate in whichever form you have, and the other two follow, so two quotes in different units can be compared in seconds. The blocks draw your shipment one hundredweight at a time.

How it is calculated

• Hundredweight (cwt) = weight in pounds ÷ 100.
• From a rate per cwt: total = cwt × rate.
• From a rate per pound: total = pounds × rate.
• From a flat total: rate per cwt = total ÷ cwt; rate per pound = total ÷ pounds.
• Minimum charge: if the total comes out lower than the minimum, the minimum is the charge.
• Per pallet = total ÷ number of pallets or pieces.

A worked example

These are the calculator's EXAMPLE numbers, not market rates.

CWT freight and freight class

On LTL, the rate per cwt isn't one number. It depends on the freight class, which mostly follows density, and on the weight break: heavier shipments usually get a lower rate per cwt. Before you rely on a cwt rate, check the class with the freight class and density calculator. A wrong class means a different rate per cwt, and often a reclass fee on top.

How to read the result

The per-pound and per-pallet figures are for comparing. If one quote is a flat total and another a rate per cwt, put each in and compare the totals. If the minimum charge applies, the effective rate per cwt jumps, which is a sign the shipment is small for that carrier's pricing. Combining shipments or shipping less often can bring the cost per pound down. For the wider picture of what drives prices, read freight shipping cost (coming soon) and our freight cost analysis (coming soon).

Cost per pound vs cost per mile

Carriers think in miles. A carrier hauling a partial or a full load cares about what the load pays for the miles it takes, loaded and empty, and how much of the truck it fills. Shippers often think per pound or per hundredweight, because their product is sold by weight. Both views are right, and the conversion between them is where good quotes and bad ones show. To go from a cwt total to a carrier's view, divide the total by the miles.

Common cwt mistakes

• Forgetting the pallet weight. The pallet counts toward the billed weight.
• Mixing up hundredweights. In US freight a hundredweight is 100 lb; the long hundredweight used in the UK is heavier. US tariffs use 100 lb.
• Ignoring the minimum. Small shipments often pay the minimum, not the rate.
• Comparing headline rates. A lower cwt rate with a higher minimum or more accessorials can cost more in total.

Quoting by weight as a shipper

If you ship by weight, weigh on a certified scale or a calibrated floor scale, and include pallets and packaging. Declare the same weight on the bill of lading that you used for the quote. Carriers reweigh freight, and a heavier actual weight changes the charge after the fact, sometimes with a correction fee on top.

For carriers

If you haul partials or LTL-sized freight in a 26 ft box or a van, know your own cost per mile before you accept any per-cwt price. The dispatcher fee calculator shows what a dispatch fee costs on that revenue. Our dry van dispatch team turns every quote into a per-mile number before it reaches you, and you approve every load. Send an application.