US LTL Freight Class & Density Calculator (NMFC)
A shipment’s density and its LTL freight class, from the size and weight of its pallets.
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- Free preview: the freight class of the shipment in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3); the density and every other figure are hidden.
- Locked until you unlock it: copy and print.
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Each handling unit
| Unit | Size, in | Cube, ft³ | Density | Class alone |
|---|
A lower class: less cube for the same weight
| Class | From, lb/ft³ | Cube at most, ft³ | Less cube | Stack height, in | Footprint, in² |
|---|
The 13-tier density scale
| Pounds per cubic foot | Class |
|---|
From the density scale carriers publish for density-based NMFC items (Estes Express Lines). The commodity’s NMFC item and the carrier’s tariff decide the billed class.
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About the US LTL Freight Class & Density Calculator (NMFC)
Work out the freight class of a US less-than-truckload (LTL) shipment from its density. Enter each handling unit — pallet, crate or carton — with its outside length, width and height, the pallet and packaging included, its weight and how many there are, in inches and pounds or centimetres and kilograms. The calculator adds the units together, divides the weight by the cube to give the density in pounds per cubic foot, and finds the class on the 13-tier density scale carriers publish for density-based NMFC items, with the breakpoints shown and the row marked.
It also shows each unit’s own density and class, and how much less cube — a lower stack, a smaller pallet, tighter packing — would reach each of the next lower classes, with the stack height or the footprint to aim for when the shipment is one kind of unit. A commodity whose NMFC item has density subs of its own can be checked against that scale instead. The class here is a density estimate: the NMFC item and the carrier’s tariff decide the class you are billed.
Without a pass it is a free preview: the freight class in full, with the first rows of each table; the density and the other figures unlock with a Pro pass. Nothing you type leaves this browser.
How to use it
- Choose inches and pounds or centimetres and kilograms, and tick round each dimension up if your carrier measures that way.
- Enter each handling unit: its type, how many of that size there are, the outside length, width and height with the pallet and packaging, and the weight of one with them. Add a line for each different size.
- Keep the 13-tier density scale, or choose your NMFC item’s own scale and type its rows: the lowest density of each row and its class.
- Read the class. With a pass, read the density, the cube and each unit’s own class, and copy the working for the bill of lading or print it; without one, the page shows a free preview.
Examples
2 pallets of 48 × 40 × 48 in at 500 lb each · 1 carton of 24 × 20 × 18 in at 60 lb
1,060 lb in 111.67 ft³: 9.49 lb/ft³, in “8 but less than 10” → class 100
Each pallet is 48 × 40 × 48 = 92,160 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 53.33 ft³ and the carton 8,640 in³ = 5 ft³. The carton alone is 12 lb/ft³ (class 85); the pallets alone 9.375 (class 100).
1 pallet of 48 × 40 × 48 in at 500 lb
9.375 lb/ft³ → class 100 · class 92.5 needs at least 10 lb/ft³: at most 50 ft³, a stack 45 in high on the same footprint, or a footprint of 1,800 in² (45 × 40 in) at the same height
500 lb ÷ 10 lb/ft³ = 50 ft³ = 86,400 in³; 86,400 ÷ (48 × 40) = 45 in, and 86,400 ÷ 48 = 1,800 in². At 37.5 in it would reach 12 lb/ft³ and class 85.
1 pallet of 120 × 80 × 150 cm at 300 kg
661.39 lb in 50.85 ft³: 13.01 lb/ft³ → class 85
1,440,000 cm³ ÷ 28,316.85 cm³ per ft³ = 50.85 ft³; 300 kg ÷ 0.45359237 = 661.39 lb.
Common uses
- A shipper filling in the class on a bill of lading before booking an LTL pickup.
- Checking whether restacking or a smaller pallet would bring a shipment into a cheaper class.
- Comparing a carrier’s reclass after an inspection with the density of the freight as shipped.
- Working out the density a commodity’s own NMFC density subs need.
How density and the class are worked out
- Cube of a unit = length × width × height in inches ÷ 1,728 (the cubic inches in a cubic foot), with the pallet and the packaging measured in; in centimetres, cm³ ÷ 28,316.85. A drum or a roll is measured as the box around it: its diameter twice, then its height.
- Density of the shipment = the total weight in pounds ÷ the total cube in cubic feet, every unit counted.
- Class = the row of the scale the density falls in: a row runs from its lowest density up to the next row’s lowest, which belongs to the next row.
- A lower class: at the same weight, the class of a denser row needs the cube to shrink to weight ÷ that row’s lowest density.
The 13-tier density scale
Pounds per cubic foot → class: less than 1 → 400; 1 but less than 2 → 300; 2 but less than 4 → 250; 4 but less than 6 → 175; 6 but less than 8 → 125; 8 but less than 10 → 100; 10 but less than 12 → 92.5; 12 but less than 15 → 85; 15 but less than 22.5 → 70; 22.5 but less than 30 → 65; 30 but less than 35 → 60; 35 but less than 50 → 55; 50 or greater → 50. This is the scale as Estes Express Lines’ class and density calculator lists it; Old Dominion’s freight density calculator calls it “the updated thirteen-tier density scale”.
When the class is not the density’s
NMFC classes run from 50 to 500 and rest on four characteristics of a commodity — density first, with handling, stowability and liability (NMFTA’s NMFC overview). Many items are classed by density on the scale above; others have a class of their own, or density subs that differ, or depend on declared value. Look up your commodity’s NMFC item (carriers and NMFTA’s own services do this) and use its scale here when it has one. Carriers may weigh and measure the freight again at their terminal and bill the class they find.
Sources
- Estes Express Lines’ class and density calculator — the 13-tier scale, how to measure palletised and cylindrical freight
- Old Dominion’s freight density calculator — the updated thirteen-tier density scale and how density is calculated
- NMFTA’s NMFC overview — what the NMFC is and the characteristics behind a class
Limitations
- A class by density alone: commodities classed by their own NMFC item, handling, stowability or value can be billed another class.
- Only the 13-tier scale carriers publish for density-based items is built in. An item with other subs, or a carrier tariff that still bills by an older density scale, needs that scale typed in as your own.
- Weights and sizes are as you enter them: measure the outside of each unit with its pallet and packaging, as carriers do.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Everything is worked out in this browser. Your handling units are kept in this browser’s storage on this device so they are there when you come back, and never uploaded; Reset clears them.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, US LTL Freight Class & Density Calculator (NMFC) shows the freight class of the shipment in full, with the first rows of each table (up to 3); the density and every other figure are hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be copied or printed. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How do I calculate freight density?
Measure each handling unit’s outside length, width and height in inches with its pallet and packaging, multiply them and divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet. Add the cubic feet of every unit, then divide the total weight in pounds by them. A 48 × 40 × 48 in pallet at 500 lb is 53.33 ft³ and 9.375 lb/ft³.
Which density scale does it use?
The 13-tier density scale carriers publish for density-based NMFC items, from below 1 lb/ft³ (class 400) to 50 lb/ft³ or more (class 50). If your commodity’s NMFC item has its own density subs, or your carrier’s tariff still uses an older scale, choose “My NMFC item’s own scale” and enter its rows.
Is the class it gives the class I will be billed?
It is the class by density. The commodity’s NMFC item and the carrier’s tariff decide the billed class, and carriers may re-weigh and re-measure the freight. Use it to check and plan, not as the carrier’s word.
Do I need a pass?
To see the density, the cube, every handling unit and every lower class, and to copy or print the working, yes: a Pro pass unlocks every Pro tool. Without a pass you get a free preview: the freight class of your shipment in full and the first rows of each table (up to 3).
Is anything uploaded?
No. The class is worked out in this browser, and your units are kept only in its storage on this device.