Top diameter of commercial dry measure exceed bottom by:

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Dry measures aren’t perfect cylinders; they’re designed as a shallow frustum, wider at the top than at the bottom. This slight taper makes filling, pouring, and emptying grains easier and helps guarantee that the amount held corresponds to the stated capacity when the contents are level with the top rim. The standard taper is about 10 percent, meaning the top diameter is roughly 10% larger than the bottom. This value is a practical compromise: it accommodates settling and packing of grains, maintains manufacturability and interoperability across sizes, and keeps the measured volume consistent. Smaller tapers wouldn’t reliably account for settling, while larger tapers would distort the true capacity and complicate standardization. So, the top diameter exceeds the bottom by about 10 percent.