What is Freight Class ?

Example Calculation:

• Step 1: A shipment measures 48 inches tall, 40 inches wide, and 36 inches deep.
  • Cubic Inches = 48 x 40 x 36 = 69,120 cubic inches.
• Step 2: Convert cubic inches to cubic feet:
  • 69,120 ÷ 1,728 = 40 cubic feet.
• Step 3: If the shipment weighs 1,000 pounds:
  • Density = 1,000 ÷ 40 = 25 lbs per cubic foot.

Overview: How is freight class determined?

LTL Carriers will generally charge for freight based on weight and cube of the items being shipped. In order to assist with this, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. authors and publishes the National Motor Freight Classification® (NMFC®) which is a standard that allows for determining of freight classes for the comparison of different commodities and products being shipped. Every commodity being shipped falls into one of 18 different freight classes which are represented by numeric numbers ranging from 50 – 500.

There are four different aspects or characteristics that determine any given commodities freight class. The characteristics that determine a commodity’s class are density, stow-ability, handling and liability.

The table below describes in general how NMFC classes relate. IMPORTANT NOTE: This does not take into account any adjustments to the class based on handling, liability, and or stow-ability which can affect the class and therefore the cost.

By following these steps, you can determine the shipment’s density and use it to identify its freight class. Higher-density shipments typically have a lower freight class and cost less to ship, while lower-density shipments may have a higher class and higher costs.