Freight Class Chart (NMFC Density Scale): All 13 Classes Explained

If you ship LTL (less-than-truckload) freight in the United States, every quote starts from your freight class — a number from 50 to 500 defined by the NMFC (National Motor Freight Classification). Lower class = denser, easier freight = lower rate per hundredweight. The freight class chart below maps density in pounds per cubic foot (pcf) to all 13 density-based classes, so you can place any shipment before the carrier does it for you.

Since the NMFC's 2025 overhaul (Docket 2025-1, effective July 2025), the majority of commodities are classified by density alone, using a standard 13-tier scale. That made class calculation far more mechanical than the old commodity-by-commodity system — you can compute it from dimensions and weight.

The Freight Class Chart: All 13 Density Tiers

Each band includes its lower bound: exactly 15 lb/ft³ is class 70, exactly 12 is class 85. To place your shipment you need one number: density = total weight (lb) ÷ total volume (ft³), where ft³ = (L in × W in × H in × pieces) ÷ 1,728. The step-by-step method with pitfalls is in how to calculate freight density, or get the class instantly from the freight class calculator.

How to Read the Freight Class Chart

Plotted, the chart is a staircase: class falls as density rises, but the steps are not evenly spaced. The bands below 15 pcf are narrow — one or two pcf wide — while the bands above 15 pcf are broad. That is where the money hides: low-density freight lives on a steep part of the curve, where a small measurement change moves the class, and a class move changes the rate.

Read it left to right: below 1 pcf you are in class 400 territory (styrofoam, empty drums); the staircase drops quickly through the parcel-like middle bands; and from 15 pcf onward the steps widen so that dense industrial freight sits comfortably in classes 70 and below.

Worked Examples

The lampshades weigh a fifth of the books but rate in a far more expensive class — density is destiny in LTL. You can open any of these in the calculator with the dimensions pre-filled: the book pallet lands at exactly 22.5 pcf (the class 65 boundary), and the lampshade pallet shows how a light, bulky unit sinks to class 250. Edit the numbers to test your own freight.

What the 2025 NMFC Changes Did

• Standard density scale. Most commodities that previously carried fixed classes moved to the 13-sub density scale above. The old 18-class ladder (with 77.5, 110, 150, 500) still exists in the NMFC, but density-rated freight now maps through the 13 tiers.
• New high-density subs. Bands at 30–35, 35–50, and 50+ lb/ft³ (classes 60, 55, 50) were formalized so very dense freight gets properly cheap classes.
• Exceptions remain. Hazmat, machinery with attachments, fragile goods, and extremely long articles keep commodity-specific classes or modifiers. Density is the default, not the universal rule — when in doubt, look up the NMFC item or ask the carrier.

The authoritative source for all of this is the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA), which publishes the NMFC itself and maintains ClassIT, the online lookup tool. Chart summaries like this one are working aids; the NMFC item governs when they disagree.

Why Class Matters to Your Invoice

LTL base rates are quoted per 100 lb (CWT) per class. Moving from class 70 to class 125 can raise the base rate roughly 40–80% on the same lane, and more on some tariffs. Benchmark tariffs such as SMC³ CzarLite, and each carrier's own rules tariff, spell out the exact multipliers — but the shape is universal. Three practical consequences:

1. Palletize tight and low. Air inside your pallet lowers density and can bump you a class. A 60-inch pallet with 12 inches of headspace void is a self-inflicted rate increase — carton layout is the fix (see how many boxes fit on a pallet).
2. Density near a break is worth engineering. At 11.8 lb/ft³ you're class 92.5; compress packaging to reach 12.0 and you're class 85. Small packaging changes pay recurring dividends.
3. Declare accurately. Carriers reweigh and re-cube constantly. An inspection that reclassifies your 92.5 to 175 costs more than the honest quote would have.

A Reclass Fee in Practice

Here is how the gap between product math and pallet math turns into money. A machine-shop shipper quotes a pallet of steel brackets: the cartons alone come to 15.2 pcf, so the bill of lading says class 70. At the origin terminal a dimensioner scans the handling unit — pallet deck, two inches of overhang on each side, and a domed stretch-wrap crown — and reads 7.8 pcf. That is the 6–8 band: class 125.

The consequences stack. The base rate moves roughly 40–80% on a 70-to-125 jump, and more on some tariffs. A weigh-and-inspection (W&I) fee from the carrier's rules tariff is added per occurrence. And because the shipper's negotiated discount was written against the declared class, the corrected line items often rate less favorably than anything they had ever quoted. None of this is a penalty in the legal sense — it is simply the price of the freight as measured. The prevention costs nothing: measure the finished pallet at its extremes, run the density, and quote the class the dimensioner will see. The full measuring procedure is in how to calculate freight density.

Edge Cases the Chart Does Not Decide

• Commodity exceptions. Some NMFC items still assign a class regardless of density — typically freight with liability, stowability, or handling problems (hazardous materials, live plants, very long or fragile articles). If your commodity has its own NMFC item, that item wins over the density table.
• Exact boundaries. Bands include their lower bound, and carriers round dimensions up to the next inch. Freight that pencils out at 12.05 pcf can easily measure 11.9 at the dock once the height picks up an extra inch of wrap. Treat any density within a few percent of a break as the lower band until you have engineered real margin.
• Non-standard handling units. Drums, bundles of pipe or lumber, and articles over about 8 feet long can trigger linear-foot rules or overlength charges that rate the shipment outside plain class math. Pallet footprint standards matter here too — see standard pallet sizes.
• FAK agreements. High-volume shippers often negotiate freight-all-kinds (FAK) rates that map a range of classes to one rating class. A FAK changes what you pay, not what the freight is — reclassification can still void the FAK terms if declarations are habitually wrong.