Import tools
Freight class calculator on the 2025 NMFC density scale
This freight class calculator turns the dimensions and weight of your handling units into pounds per cubic foot and the estimated class carriers have applied since July 19, 2025. Enter pallets or crates as they will load, in inches and pounds, and the class updates as you type. What the class does to an LTL rate, and when to stop caring about it, is covered in the FTL vs LTL guide.
Use the calculator
Density and estimated freight class
Estimated freight class
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Loading the calculator…
Density
lbs per cubic foot
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Total cubic feet
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Total weight
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Handling units
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Density-based estimate. Commodities with their own NMFC listing, and freight with stowability, handling or liability conditions, can class differently. The carrier bills on measured dimensions.
Inputs the class estimate is built on
Freight class prices the space your cargo takes against the weight it brings, so the calculator needs the shipment as it loads on the truck, not as it sits on a product sheet.
What to enter per handling unit
| Input | What to enter | Where it goes wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | Length, width and height of one pallet, crate or carton in inches, including pallet deck and any overhang | Entering carton dimensions for palletized cargo. The truck is priced on the pallet, air gaps and all. |
| Weight | The loaded weight of that unit in pounds, packaging and pallet included | Using the product weight from the listing. A wood pallet alone adds 30 to 50 pounds. |
| Quantity | How many identical units ship | Averaging different pallet heights into one line. Each distinct size gets its own row. |
The math behind the result is short: cubic feet = length x width x height / 1,728, and density = total pounds / total cubic feet. A standard 48 x 40 pallet loaded to 48 inches at 500 pounds works out to 53.3 cubic feet and 9.4 pounds per cubic foot, which lands in class 100.
The 13-subclass density scale since July 2025
On July 19, 2025 the NMFTA's Docket 2025-1 moved roughly 2,000 commodity listings from commodity-based classes to density-based ones, and widened the standard density scale from 11 subclasses to 13 by adding classes 55 and 50 at the dense end. This is the scale the calculator reads from.
NMFC density scale, effective July 19, 2025
| Density (lbs per cubic foot) | Freight class |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 400 |
| 1 to less than 2 | 300 |
| 2 to less than 4 | 250 |
| 4 to less than 6 | 175 |
| 6 to less than 8 | 125 |
| 8 to less than 10 | 100 |
| 10 to less than 12 | 92.5 |
| 12 to less than 15 | 85 |
| 15 to less than 22.5 | 70 |
| 22.5 to less than 30 | 65 |
| 30 to less than 35 | 60 |
| 35 to less than 50 | 55 |
| 50 or greater | 50 |
Lower class means a cheaper rate per hundredweight, and the full NMFC system still spans 18 classes from 50 to 500. Dense, compact freight rides at the bottom of the table; light and bulky freight pays for the cube it occupies.
Density to freight class, 13-subclass 2025 scale
Density starts the class, three factors can move it
Density is the first of four classification factors, not the only one. Stowability, handling and liability can pull a commodity away from its density class: hazardous cargo, freight that cannot be stacked, items with extreme length, and high-theft or fragile goods all carry classes above what their density alone would say.
What the calculator cannot know is your commodity's own NMFC item number. Many products still have a listing with a fixed class or their own density breakpoints, and on the bill of lading the item number governs. Treat the density result as the working default for general freight, and check the item listing when your cargo is fragile, hazardous, oversized or notably easy to steal.
What a wrong class costs on the invoice
LTL terminals measure what shippers declare. Dimensioners photograph and cube freight as it crosses the dock, and when the measured density does not support the class on the bill of lading, the carrier issues a weight and inspection correction: the shipment is rebilled at the corrected class, with an administrative correction charge added, typically 25 to 100 dollars depending on the carrier, on top of the rate difference.
A rebill from class 85 to class 125 on a cross-country pallet can add more to the invoice than the low class saved on the quote, and corrections arrive after delivery, when the invoice is already in dispute territory. The import version of this correction has a pattern: cartons measured in centimeters at origin, a pallet built at the transload warehouse, and nobody re-measuring the built pallet before the BOL is cut. Entering honest dimensions here, and quoting on them, is cheaper than arguing later.
From container floor to a classed LTL shipment
Platton is a digital freight forwarder for companies importing into the US, and freight class shows up at the exact moment import cargo becomes domestic cargo: when a container is unloaded and rebuilt on pallets.
LTL delivery priced on the real density
Transloading that sets the density
FTL when class stops mattering
Common Questions About Freight Class
Three things per handling unit: dimensions in inches, loaded weight in pounds, and how many identical units ship. The calculator totals cubic feet across the lines, divides pounds by feet and reads the density against the current NMFC scale. Accuracy depends on measuring the unit that loads on the truck: the pallet with its deck and overhang, not the cartons stacked on it.
The pallet. LTL carriers price the loaded handling unit, so the dimensions that matter are the pallet footprint including overhang and the height including the deck, with the weight of the whole loaded unit. Forty cartons calculated individually give a higher density than the same cartons on a pallet, because the stack carries air and the deck adds height, and the carrier measures the pallet.
Usually one of three reasons. The measured dimensions at the terminal were larger than the declared ones, so the density dropped and the class rose. The commodity has its own NMFC item number with a class that overrides pure density. Or the freight failed on a non-density factor such as stowability or liability. The first cause is the most common and the only one a tape measure fixes in advance.
Yes. NMFTA's Docket 2025-1 took effect on July 19, 2025 and moved around 2,000 commodity listings to density-based classification, retiring many fixed commodity classes. The standard density scale grew from 11 subclasses to 13, adding class 55 for 35 to 50 pounds per cubic foot and class 50 above that. If your team is still classing from a pre-2025 chart, dense shipments are likely overpaying.
No. Density is the default, and for most general freight it is also the answer, but the bill of lading carries an NMFC item number, and where that listing assigns a fixed class or additional conditions, the listing governs. Hazardous, fragile, high-value and hard-to-stow freight commonly class above their density. When the two disagree, quote on the item listing, not the density estimate.
Related freight and cost guides
FTL vs LTL: where class-based pricing ends and trailer pricing begins.
Transloading: how container cargo becomes palletized LTL freight.
Drayage costs by port: the leg between the vessel and the warehouse that feeds this one.
CBM calculator: the metric side of the same problem, for the ocean and air legs.
Import duty calculator: the landed cost the freight charge sits inside.
Other import tools
Container capacity calculator
How many cartons or pallets fit a 20ft, 40ft or high cube, and how many containers you need.
Chargeable weight calculator
Gross vs volumetric weight per carton line and the rate slab your shipment sits in.
Import duty calculator
Duty, fees and landed cost.
CBM calculator
Total cubic meters, revenue tons and container fit from your carton list.
Price the delivery, not just the class
The class estimates the LTL rate; the quote confirms it. Send the pallet list and destination and you get back an itemized delivery quote with the class, the rate and the accessorials on one page.