Freight class (NMFC)

Truckload freight is priced by the trailer. LTL freight shares a trailer with other shippers’ pallets, so it is priced by how much space and risk it takes up, and freight class is the standardized measure of that. Class 50 is dense, durable and cheap to move (bricks, canned goods); class 500 is light, bulky, fragile or valuable (ping-pong balls, assembled furniture, art).

Density does most of the work. Pounds per cubic foot, calculated from the shipment’s dimensions and weight, maps to a class in the NMFC tables (the freight class calculator does that arithmetic and shows the full density chart), and the classification has been moving further toward pure density rules in recent years. Stowability (can it be stacked or does it need its own space), handling (does it need special equipment) and liability (is it likely to be stolen or damaged) adjust from there.

Why it matters on paper: the class on the bill of lading is what the carrier quotes from, and carriers reweigh and reclassify shipments at the terminal. A pallet booked as class 70 that measures out to class 125 gets rebilled at the higher class plus an inspection fee. Shippers dispute these constantly, and the dispute is settled by the dimensions and weight on the BOL against the carrier’s inspection report.

For a broker handling LTL, the class and the NMFC item number on the BOL, the weight, and the dimensions are the fields to capture at booking and to check against the invoice.