Freight class chart (NMFC density scale, 2025)
The complete 13-tier density scale that LTL carriers have applied to density-rated commodities since July 19, 2025. Each row pairs a density bracket in pounds per cubic foot with its freight class, plus the weight a standard 48 × 40 × 48-inch pallet would need to land there.
| Sub | Density (lb/ft³) | Freight class | Weight on a 48×40×48″ pallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Less than 1 | 400 | under 53 lb |
| 2 | 1 to under 2 | 300 | 53 – 107 lb |
| 3 | 2 to under 4 | 250 | 107 – 213 lb |
| 4 | 4 to under 6 | 175 | 213 – 320 lb |
| 5 | 6 to under 8 | 125 | 320 – 427 lb |
| 6 | 8 to under 10 | 100 | 427 – 533 lb |
| 7 | 10 to under 12 | 92.5 | 533 – 640 lb |
| 8 | 12 to under 15 | 85 | 640 – 800 lb |
| 9 | 15 to under 22.5 | 70 | 800 – 1,200 lb |
| 10 | 22.5 to under 30 | 65 | 1,200 – 1,600 lb |
| 11 | 30 to under 35 | 60 | 1,600 – 1,867 lb |
| 12 | 35 to under 50 | 55 | 1,867 – 2,667 lb |
| 13 | 50 or more | 50 | 2,667 lb or more |
Printed from ltlfreightclass.com/freight-class-chart — free LTL freight class calculator & NMFC density chart. Density-based scale effective July 19, 2025. Estimates only; confirm the binding class with your carrier.
How to read this chart
Everything on this page keys off one number: your shipment's density. Length times width times height, in inches, divided by 1,728, gives cubic feet; total pounds divided by those cubic feet gives density. Find the bracket your density falls into in the second column, and the class in the third column is your estimated freight class. The brackets include their lower bound and stop just short of the upper one — a shipment at exactly 8 lb/ft³ belongs to Sub 6 (Class 100), not Sub 5.
Skip the arithmetic entirely if you like — the calculator on our home page takes raw measurements in imperial or metric, blends any number of pieces, highlights the matching row, and tells you how close you sit to the next bracket in either direction.
The fourth column is a practical shortcut for warehouse teams. A standard 48 × 40-inch pallet stacked 48 inches high occupies 53.3 cubic feet, so each density bracket corresponds to a fixed weight window on that footprint. If your typical pallet is built to those dimensions, you can classify it by weight alone: a 620 lb pallet sits in Sub 7 at Class 92.5, while the same pallet loaded to 1,300 lb drops to Class 65. Pallets stacked to a different height need the full density math — that is exactly what the calculator is for.
Which classes this scale can — and cannot — assign
Since July 19, 2025, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association rates most general commodities purely by density using the 13 sub-provisions shown here, running from Class 400 for featherweight, space-hungry freight down to Class 50 for the densest loads. Two of those brackets — Class 55 and Class 50 — are new with the 2025 overhaul and reward very dense freight that older tables capped at Class 60.
Five of the eighteen historical classes never appear in this table: 77.5, 110, 150, 200, and 500. Density alone cannot produce them. They are reserved for commodities whose NMFC listing weighs other rating factors — freight that is unusually fragile, awkward to stow, hazardous, or carries high liability. If your commodity keeps a fixed class for one of those reasons, that listed class overrides anything you read off this chart. Our freight class by commodity guide covers the common cases.
Treat the chart as a fast, accurate first answer rather than a binding quote. Carriers re-weigh and re-measure at the dock, and the NMFTA's ClassIT system holds the authoritative listing for every commodity. When a rate dispute is expensive enough to matter, confirm there before you tender.
Keep a copy at the dock
This page is built to print cleanly on one sheet: hit the Print this chart button (or Ctrl/Cmd + P) and the navigation, buttons, and page furniture drop away, leaving the table with a small attribution line. Shippers tape it up next to the scale so anyone building a pallet can sanity-check a class without opening a laptop. The density brackets are fixed by the NMFC, so a printed copy stays accurate until the NMFTA next amends the scale — we track those dockets and update this page when anything changes. The two amendment cycles since the 2025 overhaul — Docket 2025-2 (effective December 6, 2025) and Docket 2026-1 (effective May 23, 2026) — converted more commodity groups to density rating but left these thirteen brackets untouched.
Scale verified against multiple independent carrier and NMFTA sources. Last reviewed: July 2026. Not affiliated with NMFTA.