Organization of transport cargo is an industry that uses its own cargo units, which significantly facilitate the planning of transport in various means of transport. One of such units is LDM. What does this abbreviation mean and will you need it when shipping goods? In this article, you will also learn how many euro pallets are put on trucks.
LDM - what is it
LDM, or load meter, is a unit that is used to determine the cargo space that the transported goods will occupy. It is often confused by laymen with the linear meter or the square meter, but not the same. Load meter refers to truck transport and specifies 1 meter of cargo space per the length of the lorry semi-trailer.
The measurement of cargo meters is crucial for the organization of transport by freight forwarders. It allows you to quickly determine how big a semi-trailer you need to order to transport the ordered load. It is essential when organizing both groupage and full truckload transport. It allows you to determine whether a given product will fit on a truck and whether transport by a larger or smaller vehicle will be more profitable for both the customer and the forwarder. What's more, the number of load meters ordered for transport is extremely helpful in groupage transport, because it allows you to quickly calculate the space that the ordered goods will occupy and how much free space will remain for additional loading. Such optimization of transport costs is beneficial for various reasons - cost (for the customer), profit (for the forwarder), ecology (due to lower exhaust emissions necessary for transporting cargo).
How to count LDM - transport the goods?
Hardly anyone who does not deal with forwarding knows how to count how many load meters will be taken up by goods on a trailer. Converting is not difficult - just know what they are dimensions of the lorry semi-trailer. The width of the lorry trailer is approx. 2,4 m. Thus, 1 ldm is equal to 2,4 m2.
1 ldm = 2,4 msthe width of the trailer x 1 m cargo length
In Poland, 13,6 m long semi-trailers are used for the transport of goods. This means that they have a cargo space of 13,6 ldm. Knowing the dimensions of the load, you can easily calculate how much ldm it will take on the trailer. This way you will know whether the goods will fit in one or more truck trailers.
Transportation of goods on pallets
Most of the goods are transported on pallets. It is a safe and comfortable way to load, transport and unload goods. So how to count number of pallets on the trailer and how many load meters will it take for the goods you want to transport by truck? After all, not every load is 2,4 m wide! It is also not difficult! Below you will find a simple one pallet distribution calculator.
Two are used in our country types of loading pallets: Euro and industrial pallets. Both versions have the same pallet width - i.e. 1,2 m, but different lengths - the euro pallet is 0,80 m long, and the industrial pallet is 1 m long.
The euro pallet takes 0,4 loading meters. It can be counted like this:
½ the width of the trailer (i.e. 120 cm) x 0,8 m (Euro pallet length 80 cm) = 0,4 ldm
So if you want to order transport of goods on 2 euro-pallets, you have to count that they will take 0,8 ldm. What is it then number of pallets on the trailer? The most popular 13,6 m-long semi-trailer can accommodate 34 Euro pallets.
In the case of industrial pallets, 1 pallet is 05 ldm.
½ trailer width (120 cm) x 1 m (industrial pallet length) = 0,5 ldm
If you plan to transport goods placed on 2 industrial pallets, you must take into account the necessity to reserve 1 load meter in the trailer. If you want to transport a large number of industrial pallets, you are probably wondering how many pallets per truck will fit. You should know that distribution of pallets on the trailer allows you to fit 26 pieces.
Why is it worth transporting pallets with goods? This method of transport significantly speeds up the loading and unloading of goods. In addition, it allows you to quickly calculate the transport area that will be necessary for the transfer. However, it is worth remembering that the goods cannot exceed the outline of the pallets.
