General
Tare Weight
The weight of an empty container, vehicle, or packaging, excluding the cargo it carries.
In depth
Tare weight is stencilled on every container door and is the figure added to cargo weight to produce the gross weight used for the VGM declaration and for road weight compliance. It varies by container type and age, and reefers and tanks are substantially heavier than dry boxes, which eats into the payload available. Using a generic tare instead of the actual figure on the box is a common source of VGM errors, and an overweight combination discovered at a weighbridge can mean the load must be stripped and reworked.
Key points
- Weight of the empty container, vehicle, or packaging
- Added to cargo weight to give gross weight for VGM
- Stencilled on the container door and varies by unit
- Reefers and tanks have a much higher tare and lower payload