Net Weight vs. Tare Weight vs. Gross Weight
Weighing and Shipping Items: Gross Weight, Tare Weight, and Net Weight
In shipping goods, the proper weighing of items is necessary before being transported. Balancing goods inside of transport and maintaining an accurate weight count ensures that companies and people stay within any weight limit restrictions and reduce the chance of an accident if too much weight shifts in transit. However, some items such as flour, coal, or water are difficult to weigh and must be weighed in different ways to keep balancing as safe as possible.
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Three main types of weight are important to distinguish. All are needed to accurately calculate or estimate the weight of a shipment or container of goods. They are:
- Gross Weight
- Tare Weight
- Net Weight
This lesson will explore the relationship between net weight vs. gross weight vs. tare weight and explain each factor in the weighing process.
Tare Weight
When packing for a vacation, have you ever asked yourself ''How much can I stuff into my luggage and still be under the 50-pound airline limit''? If so, you realize that you must account for the weight of the actual luggage bag to ensure you are below the airline weight limit. Luggage is sold on two features: durability and weight. The weight of your empty luggage is the tare weight.
Tare weight, also known as unladen weight, is the weight of a container when it's empty. This type of measurement is important to know when shipping a product or when determining how much material you have added to a container.
Most scientific weigh scales include a button that resets to zero on the display. This allows the user to place a container of unknown weight on the scale and use it to measure the precise weight of the contents of that container.
Say you want to buy some peanuts from the bulk section of your local co-op. You've brought your own Tupperware bucket so that you don't waste a plastic bag for transport. However, you don't want the weight of the bucket to affect your total price.
Therefore, before you put the peanuts in the bucket, you can put it on the scale, set the scale to zero, then add the peanuts. That way the weight of the bucket is not added to the weight of the peanuts, and you don't pay extra.
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What is Gross Weight?
Gross weight is the largest quantifiable type of weight concerning shipping. It is the weight of a container and all of the contents inside. Furthermore, the gross weight of a shipment is the combined total of the tare weight and the net weight. Gross weight does not only describe a shipment, however. In most instances, gross weight also accounts for the weight of the transport vehicle, such as freight transport, an aircraft, and its crew, a railroad car, or a semi-truck. An airline, for example, measures the gross weight to determine if the luggage is over the weight limit.
For example, the weight of a box and its contents is 30 pounds. In a full shipment, there are 500 boxes. The gross weight of the total shipment of boxes is 15,000 pounds. To get the entire shipment from one location to another, a truck weighing 8,000 pounds must transport the load. Recall that the gross weight also often accounts for the transportation (which can be considered a type of container), so the shipment's gross weight is 23,000 pounds.
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What is Tare Weight?
What does tare weight mean? The tare weight of a shipment also called the unladen weight, is the most basic type of weight. The weight of an empty container without any contents inside defines tare weight. It is equally important to account for the weight of the empty container when shipping an item so that the shipper can get an accurate weight of what has been added to the container. Empty packages and forms of transportation can be counted as the tare weight, meaning that the weight of an empty aircraft, truck, or railroad car is accounted for before loading occurs. Zeroing out a scale after placing a container on it allows an accounting of the tare weight.
In the previous example, the box's weight and contents were 30 pounds. For simplicity, the tare weight of one empty box was 5 pounds. After calculation, this means that 1,500 pounds of the shipment were the weight of the empty boxes. Further, before loading, the empty truck that transported the boxes was 8,000 pounds. Therefore, the tare weight of the shipment of boxes was 9,500 pounds in total.
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What is Net Weight?
What is net weight? The net weight of an item is the third unit of weight measurement used to calculate a shipment's weight accurately. Net weight is the weight of the contents inside a container, not inclusive of the weight of the container. It is the actual weight of the shipped goods. There is an important distinction between gross vs. net weight because gross weight accounts for the weight of the container while net weight does not. Consumers only want to pay for the net weight of an item, not for the shipment mode.
Returning to the example of the shipment of 500 boxes, where the total weight of each box is 30 pounds and the tare weight of each box is 5 pounds, the net weight of each box's contents calculates to 25 pounds. Combined, the net weight and the tare weight of a box equal the gross weight. Out of the total shipment, 13,500 pounds of goods were transported, which can be calculated by subtracting the tare weight of the shipment (9,500 pounds) from the gross weight of the shipment (23,000 pounds).
Gross Weight vs. Net Weight vs. Tare Weight
Calculating the different weights of a shipment can be confusing, given the variety of factors taken into account. Fortunately, a series of mathematical formulas can be used to find the values of each type of weight. The following table may help simplify identifying each type of weight and how to calculate its value accurately.
| Weight Type | Definition | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Tare Weight | The weight of an empty container without any contents inside | Gross Weight - Net Weight = Tare Weight |
| Net Weight | The weight of the goods being shipped, not including the weight of the container | Gross Weight - Tare Weight = Net Weight |
| Gross Weight | The total weight of a shipment, which includes the weight of the container and the items within | Tare weight + Net weight = Gross weight |
A final example may assist in clarifying the relationship between net weight vs. gross weight vs. tare weight and how they are used in shipping. A shipment of cereal has a gross weight of 150 pounds. There are 20 boxes of cereal in the shipment, each weighing 5 pounds. One empty box weighs one pound. A hand truck weighing 50 pounds is transporting the shipment. What is the net weight of the cereal shipping?
- Gross weight = 150 pounds
- Tare weight = (20 boxes x 1 pound per box = 20 pounds of empty boxes) + 50 pound hand truck = 70 pounds
- Net weight = Gross weight (150 pounds) - Tare Weight (70 pounds) = 80 pounds of cereal
Add the tare weight to the net weight to find the gross weight and check that the calculation is correct. If the total weight adds up to 150 pounds, then the math is accurate. Since 70 + 80 is equal to 150, the correct net weight for this shipment of cereal is 80 pounds.
Lesson Summary
To safely ship and balance many items, three types of weight are necessary to understand. The tare weight of a shipment is the weight of the empty container and empty transportation, not including the contents of the container. The net weight is the weight of the contents within a container. The combined total of the tare and net weights is called the gross weight. There are a series of mathematical formulas used to identify and check the accuracy of each value:
- Gross Weight - Net Weight = Tare Weight
- Gross Weight - Tare Weight = Net Weight
- Tare weight + Net weight = Gross weight
Net Weight
But the weight of the peanuts have their own name, too. The weight of the contents of a container, excluding the container weight, is known as the net weight. Therefore, the bucket has the tare weight, say, 1oz, and the peanuts themselves have the net weight, say 16oz.
So, if tare weight is the weight of an empty container, and the net weight is the weight of the contents of the container, what is the total weight? Gross weight is the combination of the tare weight and the net weigh; in other words, 17oz for our peanut example.
Application Example
Let's try another example. A truck traveling on U.S. highways is required to check in at weigh stations to ensure that the truck is transporting cargo safely. On the back or side of the trailer, the tare weight, maximum gross weight and net weight (cargo weight) are usually listed.
At the weigh station, the gross weight of a truck is measured on the scale. The tare weight of the truck and trailer are then subtracted to determine the net weight of the cargo. If the gross weight is above the maximum gross weight allowed, then the truck is overloaded with cargo.
Uses of Tare Weight
In scientific experiments, where exact ratios of materials are needed, compensating for the tare weight of the measuring container is critical to the success of the experiment.
In comparing shipping costs, net weight is needed. No one wants to pay for the weight of a truck when you have a load of rocks delivered to your house. When the truck is weighed before it leaves the rock yard, the tare weight of the truck is subtracted from the total to determine the payload weight in the back of the truck.
Lesson Summary
In summary, the tare weight is the weight of a container, like a truck or box. The weight of the material itself is the net weight. Once you add material to the container, the combination of the tare weight and the net weight is the gross weight. To get the net weight, subtract the tare weight from the gross weight.
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Video Transcript
Tare Weight
When packing for a vacation, have you ever asked yourself ''How much can I stuff into my luggage and still be under the 50-pound airline limit''? If so, you realize that you must account for the weight of the actual luggage bag to ensure you are below the airline weight limit. Luggage is sold on two features: durability and weight. The weight of your empty luggage is the tare weight.
Tare weight, also known as unladen weight, is the weight of a container when it's empty. This type of measurement is important to know when shipping a product or when determining how much material you have added to a container.
Most scientific weigh scales include a button that resets to zero on the display. This allows the user to place a container of unknown weight on the scale and use it to measure the precise weight of the contents of that container.
Say you want to buy some peanuts from the bulk section of your local co-op. You've brought your own Tupperware bucket so that you don't waste a plastic bag for transport. However, you don't want the weight of the bucket to affect your total price.
Therefore, before you put the peanuts in the bucket, you can put it on the scale, set the scale to zero, then add the peanuts. That way the weight of the bucket is not added to the weight of the peanuts, and you don't pay extra.
Net Weight
But the weight of the peanuts have their own name, too. The weight of the contents of a container, excluding the container weight, is known as the net weight. Therefore, the bucket has the tare weight, say, 1oz, and the peanuts themselves have the net weight, say 16oz.
So, if tare weight is the weight of an empty container, and the net weight is the weight of the contents of the container, what is the total weight? Gross weight is the combination of the tare weight and the net weigh; in other words, 17oz for our peanut example.
Application Example
Let's try another example. A truck traveling on U.S. highways is required to check in at weigh stations to ensure that the truck is transporting cargo safely. On the back or side of the trailer, the tare weight, maximum gross weight and net weight (cargo weight) are usually listed.
At the weigh station, the gross weight of a truck is measured on the scale. The tare weight of the truck and trailer are then subtracted to determine the net weight of the cargo. If the gross weight is above the maximum gross weight allowed, then the truck is overloaded with cargo.
Uses of Tare Weight
In scientific experiments, where exact ratios of materials are needed, compensating for the tare weight of the measuring container is critical to the success of the experiment.
In comparing shipping costs, net weight is needed. No one wants to pay for the weight of a truck when you have a load of rocks delivered to your house. When the truck is weighed before it leaves the rock yard, the tare weight of the truck is subtracted from the total to determine the payload weight in the back of the truck.
Lesson Summary
In summary, the tare weight is the weight of a container, like a truck or box. The weight of the material itself is the net weight. Once you add material to the container, the combination of the tare weight and the net weight is the gross weight. To get the net weight, subtract the tare weight from the gross weight.
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- Activities
- FAQs
Tare Weight vs. Net Weight: Multiple Choice Exercise
This activity will help you assess your knowledge of tare and net weight.
Directions
For this activity, carefully read and select the best answer that completes each of the given statements. To do this, print or copy this page on blank paper and circle the letter of your answer.
Multiple Choice
1.) When you put a jar with cocoa powder inside on a weighing scale, the reading you get from the scale is called __________.
A. tare weight
B. net weight
C. gross weight
D. bare weight
2.) Measurements on the labels of food packaging tell us the __________ that can be expected from the contents of the product.
A. gross weight
B. net weight
C. approximated weight
D. tare weight
3.) If the shipping cost for a package that weighs 10 lbs and below is twenty dollars and you don't want to pay more than that amount, how much should the contents weigh if the container itself is 3lbs heavy?
A. 8 lbs
B. 7 lbs
C. 2lbs
D. 10lbs
4.) The weight that you start with when you have an empty bag is referred to as the __________.
A. tare weight
B. zero weight
C. net weight
D. gross weight
5.) In order to get the net weight of a candle in a glass, you must __________.
A. determine the gross weight of candle and glass together
B. determine the tare weight of the candle then subtract the gross weight of the glass
C. determine the net weight of the glass from the gross weight of both glass and candle
D. determine the gross weight of candle and glass together then subtract with the tare weight of the glass
Answer Key
1.) C
2.) B
3.) B
4.) A
5.) D
How do you calculate net weight?
The net weight of a shipment is the weight of the contents, not inclusive of their containers. Net weight can be found by subtracting the weight of the empty containers (tare weight) from the total weight of the shipment (gross weight).
How do you find your tare weight?
The tare weight of a shipment is the weight of the empty container, without any contents inside. Tare weight can be found by subtracting the weight of the contents (net weight) from the total weight of the shipment (gross weight).
What is net weight and gross weight?
Net weight and gross weight are closely related, but they are not the same. The net weight of a shipment includes the weight of the items inside a container but does not include the weight of the container. The gross weight is the total weight of a shipment, inclusive of the weight of the container and the contents inside.
What is the difference between tare weight and net weight?
Tare weight and net weight can be combined to find the gross weight of a shipment. The tare weight of a shipment is the weight of the empty containers, which includes transportation such as aircraft, railroad cars, or trucks. The net weight of a shipment is the weight of the contents inside the containers, not including the weight of the containers.
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