Calculators

Loading Metres Calculator

Calculate loading metres (LDM) for pallets on a vehicle. Supports preset pallet sizes or custom dimensions. Returns utilisation percentage, pallet spaces, and fit warnings.

get/api/ldm

Request

  • Base URL: https://www.freightutils.com
  • URL: https://www.freightutils.com/api/ldm
  • Auth: none declared

Query parameters

pallet'euro' | 'uk' | 'half' | 'quarter'

Preset pallet type. If omitted, length and width are required.

lengthnumber

Pallet length in millimetres. Required if no pallet preset is specified.

widthnumber

Pallet width in millimetres. Required if no pallet preset is specified.

qtyinteger

Number of pallets — a whole number from 1 to 9007199254740991 (default 1). Anything else, such as 2.5 or 1e+21, is refused with 400, never rounded.

stackableboolean

Whether the pallets are stackable.

stack2 | 3

Stack factor: 2 or 3 pallets per floor position. Only read when stackable is true.

weightnumber

Weight per pallet in kilograms.

vehicle'artic' | 'rigid10' | 'rigid75' | 'luton' | 'us53' | 'us48' | 'custom'

Vehicle type for utilisation calculation. DEPRECATED: rigid10 — removal in 3.0.0. It still answers with its own figures and returns a DEPRECATED advisory in warnings[]; its 10 m length is published by no manufacturer. Use custom with vehicle_length, or artic. Any other value is refused with 400.

vehicle_lengthnumber

The custom vehicle's load length in metres, greater than 0 — required when vehicle is 'custom' (fits and utilisation are measured against it); ignored otherwise.

Response

Successful LDM calculation.

ldmnumber required

Calculated loading metres.

utilisation_percentnumber required

Percentage of vehicle length used.

total_weight_kgnumber nullable required

Total weight of all pallets in kg, or null if weight not provided.

payload_checkedboolean

true when a weight was given and checked against the vehicle's max payload. false: fits reflects the floor and length only, and warnings[] carries an info note with the payload figure.

fitsboolean required

true only when the load fits the vehicle's length, its floor positions (pallet_spaces.available) and, when a weight is given, its max payload. Each failed constraint is named in warnings[] with its numbers.

Example response

{
  "ldm": 0.8,
  "vehicle": {
    "name": "13.6m Artic Trailer",
    "length_m": 13.6,
    "max_payload_kg": 24000
  },
  "utilisation_percent": 5.88,
  "pallet_spaces": {
    "used": 10,
    "available": 15,
    "basis": "euro_floor_positions",
    "floor_positions_basis": "deck_geometry",
    "floor_positions_note": "15 Euro (1200 x 800) floor positions from the 6.1 x 2.4 m deck (the better orientation, cross-checked against the loading-metre convention). The record's stored 8 is weight-limited, not a floor count.",
    "record_count": 8,
    "record_count_basis": "weight-limited"
  },
  "payload_checked": true,
  "fits": true,
  "warnings": [],
  "meta": {
    "inputs": {
      "length_mm": 1200,
      "width_mm": 800,
      "qty": 2,
      "stack_factor": 2,
      "vehicle": "artic"
    }
  }
}

Changes

No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.