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Lane Meter & CEU Calculator

Turn a vehicle mix into lane meters and Car Equivalent Units, or size how many units fit a vessel deck. Built for RoRo capacity planning.

Pick a vehicle type and set its quantity. Add a row only for each different type.

500 lm · 133.8 CEU · 1,248.9Standard car deck

Assumptions

Deck demandLive estimate
Total lane meters
500lm
Total CEU
133.8
Total volume
1,248.9
Total units
100
Share of a large car carrier2%

Compared with a 6,500 CEU PCTC

Deck fit is inferred from height and is a typical guide, not a stowage decision.

Planning estimate only. Lane-meter consumption depends on deck layout and lashing standard; true CEU is carrier-assigned. Confirm with your carrier before booking.

What are lane meters and CEU?

A lane meter is one meter of a single deck lane on a RoRo vessel. The lane meters a vehicle consumes are its length plus a fore-and-aft clearance gap, multiplied by the number of lanes it occupies if it is wider than a standard lane.

A Car Equivalent Unit (CEU) normalizes mixed cargo against a reference car (the RT43, 4.125 m by 1.55 m). It lets planners express deck demand for vans, pickups, and high-and-heavy units in a single comparable figure.

This calculator estimates both from the dimensions you enter. True CEU is assigned per model by the carrier, and lane meters depend on the actual deck layout and lashing standard, so treat the output as a planning estimate, not a stowage plan.

How RoRo cargo is priced, by segment

This tool reports the units carriers plan and quote in. Which one applies to you depends on the trade and cargo, so the same cargo can be priced more than one way:

Deep-sea cars (PCTC)
Per unit or per CEU. A fixed rate is applied to each vehicle by its CEU rating.
Consolidated / LI-LO cars
By volume (CBM). Length, width, and height all count, so a tall vehicle costs more.
Short-sea & ferry RoRo
Per lane meter, cars included. Deck length is the binding constraint.
High & heavy, rolling freight
Per lane meter (running length), or weight-or-measure, whichever is greater.
Static & breakbulk
By volume (CBM) or measurement, since it does not roll on its own wheels.

Rates themselves are set by the carrier and vary by lane and season. This tool sizes the cargo in each unit so you can prepare a request and sanity-check a quote, not produce a price.

Frequently Asked Questions

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