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Freight Class Calculator

Enter your shipment’s dimensions and weight to get its density and NMFC freight class. Everything is calculated in your browser — nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. Results use the current density scale, as restructured by the NMFTA in July 2025.

  • Free · no sign-up
  • 2025 NMFC density scale
  • Inches or centimetres
  • Multi-pallet
  • Copyable BOL summary

Freight class and density calculator

Your shipment

Dimensions (per piece)

in
in
in

Measure to the outside of the packaging. If the freight is palletized, include the pallet in the height.

lb

Weight is the gross weight of the whole shipment, including packaging and pallets — not the weight of one piece.

Your figures never leave this device. Nothing is uploaded or stored.

Enter dimensions and a weight to see your freight class.

Figures are indicative. Confirm classification with your carrier before booking.

How it works

How this calculator works

Freight class for most commodities is determined by density — how many pounds your shipment weighs per cubic foot of space it occupies. The calculator multiplies your length, width and height to get cubic inches, divides by 1,728 to convert to cubic feet, then divides your total weight by that figure. The result is matched against the density scale below to return a class between 50 and 500.

Measure to the outside of the packaging, not the product. Include the pallet in both the height and the weight if your freight is palletized — carriers measure what they actually load, and a 6-inch pallet under a 54-inch stack makes it a 60-inch shipment. If you want the background rather than the arithmetic, read how freight class is determined.

Density to freight class

This is the density provision as it stands after the NMFTA’s Docket 2025-1, which took effect on 19 July 2025 and expanded the scale from eleven subprovisions to thirteen. The two new subprovisions at the top — 35 to 50, and 50 or greater — introduced classes 55 and 50 to the density scale for the first time.

Current NMFC density scale

Thirteen subprovisions. What the calculator returns.

Density in pounds per cubic foot and the freight class it rates, effective 19 July 2025.
Sub Density (lb/ft³) Class
13 50 or greater 50
12 35 but less than 50 55
11 30 but less than 35 60
10 22.5 but less than 30 65
9 15 but less than 22.5 70
8 12 but less than 15 85
7 10 but less than 12 92.5
6 8 but less than 10 100
5 6 but less than 8 125
4 4 but less than 6 175
3 2 but less than 4 250
2 1 but less than 2 300
1 Less than 1 400

Legacy 18-class chart

Still published widely. Shown for comparison.

The older chart that maps all eighteen classes to a density band.
Density (lb/ft³) Class
50 or greater 50
35 but less than 50 55
30 but less than 35 60
22.5 but less than 30 65
15 but less than 22.5 70
13.5 but less than 15 77.5
12 but less than 13.5 85
10.5 but less than 12 92.5
9 but less than 10.5 100
8 but less than 9 110
7 but less than 8 125
6 but less than 7 150
5 but less than 6 175
4 but less than 5 200
3 but less than 4 250
2 but less than 3 300
1 but less than 2 400
Less than 1 500

Why the two scales differ

The 18-row chart maps every one of the eighteen freight classes to a density band. It is the version almost every competing calculator publishes, and it is the version most people have seen. The problem is that the NMFC density provision does not work that way. It assigns thirteen classes, and five of the eighteen — 77.5, 110, 150, 200 and 500 — are never produced by density at all. They exist in the classification, but they come from specific commodity listings, or from the stowability, handling and liability characteristics of the goods.

The two agree at and above 15 pounds per cubic foot. Below that they drift apart: a shipment at 6.5 pounds per cubic foot rates class 125 on the current provision and class 150 on the legacy chart. When your shipment falls in one of those bands, the calculator tells you so and shows both numbers, because your carrier may still quote from a rate base built on the older structure. That is a conversation to have before you book, not after.

For a class-by-class view with example commodities, see the full freight class chart.

Before you book

Density decides the class for most freight, but not all of it. Some commodities have a fixed class assigned in the NMFC regardless of density, and stowability, handling and liability can override the density result. Check your commodity’s NMFC listing or confirm with your carrier before booking — a wrong class on the bill of lading is the most common cause of an unexpected reclassification charge. You can look up your NMFC code to see whether your commodity rates on density or carries a fixed class.

Lower classes are denser freight and cost less per hundredweight to ship. A pallet of bricks is dense, low-class and cheap to move; a pallet of ping-pong balls is light, high-class and expensive, because it takes the same trailer space for far less weight.

Shipping boxes rather than pallets? Parcel carriers do not use freight class — they price on dimensional weight instead. Use the dimensional weight calculator for UPS, FedEx and USPS shipments.

FAQ

Freight class questions

How do I calculate freight class?
Multiply your shipment’s length, width and height in inches, divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet, then divide the total weight in pounds by the cubic feet. That gives you density in pounds per cubic foot. Match the density against the NMFC density scale to find your class. On the current scale, densities from 12 up to 15 pounds per cubic foot rate class 85, and 50 pounds per cubic foot or more rates class 50.
What is the difference between freight class and an NMFC code?
The NMFC code identifies what you are shipping — a specific commodity listing in the National Motor Freight Classification. The freight class is the rating number, 50 through 500, that determines your cost. Every NMFC code maps to a class, but for density-based commodities the class depends on the density of that particular shipment.
Is a lower freight class cheaper?
Yes. Lower classes represent denser, more easily handled freight, and cost less per hundred pounds. Class 50 is the cheapest rating and class 500 the most expensive.
What happens if I use the wrong freight class?
The carrier will reweigh and reinspect the shipment, reclassify it, and bill the difference — usually with an additional inspection or reclassification fee. Underclassing to lower a quote does not save money; it produces a corrected invoice weeks later.
How many freight classes are there?
Eighteen: 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 77.5, 85, 92.5, 100, 110, 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 300, 400 and 500. Only thirteen of them are assigned by density. Classes 77.5, 110, 150, 200 and 500 exist in the NMFC but come from specific commodity listings or from stowability, handling and liability characteristics rather than from the density scale.
Does freight class apply to full truckload shipments?
No. Freight class applies to LTL — less-than-truckload — shipments, where multiple customers’ freight shares a trailer and space must be rated fairly. Full truckload pricing is generally negotiated per lane and does not use classification.

Shipping parcels as well as pallets?

Work out dimensional weight and billable weight for UPS, FedEx and USPS — with the whole-inch round-up and the USPS one-cubic-foot threshold applied correctly.

Open the DIM weight calculator