Nominal and Actual Cubic Meters for Timber

In the timber industry, it is common to specify volume as both nominal and actual cubic meters.

Actual Cubic Meter:

The volume of the finished, planed product as it is delivered.
Expressed as a conversion factor showing the number of cubic meters per price unit.

Nominal Cubic Meter:

The volume after cutting, before planing (dimensions of the raw material).
Also expressed as a conversion factor showing the number of cubic meters per price unit.


The data fields for actual and nominal cubic meters are found under the product in Packages → Conversion Factors, and are only available for products related to timber.

These data fields are accessible to NOBB users through the NOBB Export API, but are not visible on http://NOBB.no .


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Example: Calculating Nominal and Actual Cubic Meters for a Product (with price unit: meter)

  • Nominal volume calculation (height × width × length):
    0.05 × 0.1 × 1.0 meters

  • Actual volume calculation (height × width × length):
    0.048 × 0.098 × 1.0 meters

If the product has a fixed length and the price unit is PCS, the product's actual length must be included in the calculation.


Profiled Timber, e.g., cladding, paneling, mouldings, etc.

Calculations are based on a rectangular cross-section:

  • Nominal cubic meter is calculated from the dimensions of the raw material before planing

  • Actual cubic meter is calculated from the dimensions after planing (finished product)


How to add Actual and Nominal Cubic Meters via Excel: How to add actual and nominal cubic meters via Excel

NOBB regulations:2.6.2 Nominal and Actual cubic meters for timber