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CM Calculator
Cost of Making per garment — labour, overhead and target margin.
CostNest Calculator
Garment Costing Calculator — Full Cost Sheet
Build a complete garment cost sheet: fabric, trims, CM, overhead, freight and agent commission. Get ex-factory and FOB price instantly. Used by RMG merchandisers and factory commercial teams in Bangladesh. No account needed — numbers update as you type.
Figures are estimates for commercial negotiation. Confirm fabric consumption with your actual patterns and validate CM with IE time study data before submitting a buyer quote. Last updated: May 2026.
Step By Step
How to Use This Calculator
8 steps
- Pick a currency — USD is standard for Bangladesh export orders; BDT suits domestic costing.
- Enter fabric cost per finished garment: fabric price ($/kg or $/m) × consumption per piece.
- Add trims and accessories: thread, label, hang tag, button, zipper, polybag, master carton.
- Enter CM (Cost of Making). If you have SAM and efficiency data, use the CM Calculator to derive it.
- Set overhead as a percentage of (fabric + trims + CM) — typically 10–20% for an RMG factory.
- Add inland freight per piece: divide total haulage cost to Chittagong Port by order quantity.
- Enter your buying agent's commission rate (3–8% is typical in Bangladesh).
- Set your target profit margin. Ex-factory and FOB prices recalculate instantly.
Worked Example
Worked example — 160 GSM jersey T-shirt, 10,000 pcs, FOB Chittagong
Use this sample to sanity-check your inputs and understand what the final result represents.
- 1Fabric: 1.4 m/pc × $2.10/m = $2.94 (includes 10% wastage)
- 2Trims & accessories: label $0.02 + thread $0.04 + polybag $0.06 + carton share $0.08 = $0.20
- 3CM: SAM 10 min, efficiency 65%, minute wage $0.00090 → CM = $0.138 + 25% overhead = $0.173
- 4Inland freight: $500 ÷ 10,000 = $0.05 per piece. Agent commission: 5%.
Final Result
Ex-factory ≈ $3.49. FOB at 12% profit margin ≈ $3.97 per piece.
Methodology
Cost Sheet Formula (BGMEA / industry standard)
This section explains the calculation logic, assumptions, and source material used to make the result more trustworthy and easier to verify.
Material Cost = Fabric Cost + Trims & Accessories. Overhead Amount = (Material Cost + CM) × Overhead%. Subtotal = Material + CM + Overhead + Freight. Agent Commission = Subtotal × Agent%. Ex-Factory Price = Subtotal + Agent Commission. FOB Price = Ex-Factory ÷ (1 − Profit%). Reference: Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) costing methodology; Kunz & Garner, Going Global (2011), Chapter 7 on FOB costing structures.
Practical Guidance
Costing accuracy — what experienced merchandisers check
- 1Fabric is 60–70% of total cost in woven items — a 5% error in consumption translates directly to a 3–4% error in total FOB
- 2Always cost with gross fabric consumption (net consumption + cutting wastage + shrinkage allowance) — factories that skip this underprice and lose money
- 3CM must be derived from SAM and actual factory efficiency, not guessed — Bangladesh average line efficiency is 55–65% (BGMEA productivity survey 2023)
- 4Quote overhead at 10–15% for owned factories with low debt; 18–25% for leased premises or high capital investment
- 5Never quote at break-even — buyer negotiation will push price down 3–8% from first quote; build that buffer in from the start
- 6Inland freight from Dhaka EPZ to Chittagong Port is roughly $400–650 for a 40' container in 2025–26; verify with your C&F agent before each quote
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes into a garment cost sheet?+
A complete cost sheet covers six layers: (1) Fabric — consumption × price, (2) Trims — labels, thread, buttons, zipper, polybag, carton, (3) CM — factory labour and overhead per piece, (4) Additional overhead — quality inspection, compliance costs, (5) Logistics — inland freight to the port, (6) Commercial — agent commission, bank charges, profit. Together these give you the FOB price. BGMEA's standard costing format and most buyer TnA (Time and Action) templates follow this structure.
How do I calculate fabric cost per garment?+
Fabric cost per piece = (fabric consumption in metres × (1 + wastage%)) × price per metre. For a 160 GSM jersey T-shirt consuming 1.4 m of fabric priced at $2.10/m with 10% wastage: 1.4 × 1.10 × $2.10 = $3.23/pc. If you buy by weight (kg), convert using: consumption (kg) = consumption (m) × fabric width (m) × GSM ÷ 1000. The ASTM D3776 and ISO 9073 standards govern fabric weight measurement used to verify GSM on delivery.
What profit margin do Bangladesh garment factories target?+
Most Bangladesh RMG factories work on a gross margin of 8–15% on FOB value, with net margins (after factory overhead, finance costs and tax) of 3–8%. BGMEA data shows that export prices in key product categories have grown more slowly than wage and utility costs since the 2013 minimum wage revision, compressing net margins. Complex items like outerwear and tailored garments can yield 12–18%; basic knitwear tends toward 8–12%.
What is the difference between ex-factory and FOB price?+
Ex-factory (EXW under Incoterms 2020) is the cost at the factory gate — the buyer arranges all transport and export. FOB (Free On Board) adds inland freight, export customs clearance and port/loading charges. For Bangladesh, this typically means factory to Chittagong Port or Dhaka ICD. The spread between ex-factory and FOB Chittagong is usually $0.15–0.50 per piece depending on shipment size and distance. Most Bangladesh export orders are priced FOB per Incoterms 2020 (ICC).
How do I handle exchange rate risk in garment costing?+
Export orders are almost always quoted in USD; your costs (wages, utilities, local trims) are in BDT. If BDT depreciates against USD after you've quoted, your margin expands; if it appreciates, it shrinks. For orders with more than 60 days between quote and payment, add a 2–3% currency buffer or use forward exchange contracts with your bank. The Bangladesh Bank sets the reference exchange rate; commercial banks operate within a permitted band (currently ±1 taka of the reference rate per BB guidelines).