Receiving 101 · Freight classification
The NMFC, and the part of it you can work out yourself.
It is the system that turns a description of your goods into a price for moving them. Most of it is a licensed publication you have to subscribe to. One part of it is published openly, is now the primary factor, and is arithmetic you can do with a tape measure.
In short
- The NMFC is a voluntary standard published by NMFTA. It is what applies absent anything the carrier has published of its own.
- An NMFC item number identifies your commodity. A freight class prices it. They are not the same thing.
- Since July 2025 density is the primary factor, on a thirteen band scale that now reaches class 50.
- Five of the eighteen classes are not on that scale at all. If you were assigned one of them, density alone did not produce it.
What it is, and who owns it
The National Motor Freight Classification is published by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association. It assigns commodities to items, and each item carries a freight class. A carrier rates a less-than-truckload shipment from that class, so the classification sits between what you are shipping and what you pay.
Two things about it surprise people. The first is that it is voluntary: NMFTA’s own classification FAQ describes it as a voluntary standard for carriers, 3PLs and shippers, and says it is what should be used to assign class absent any tariff the carrier may have published. Your carrier’s own rules, or your negotiated agreement, can displace it.
The second is that it is not free. The item list is NMFTA’s copyrighted publication, and the official digital version is a paid subscription called ClassIT+. That is why this page explains the system and does not reproduce it, and why any free tool that appears to hand you item numbers is either republishing somebody else’s property or inventing them.
The four factors
Every classification decision is made on these four. Since 2025 the first is primary, and the other three are what stop the first from being the whole answer.
Density
Weight against the space the goods occupy, in pounds per cubic foot. The only one of the four you can measure yourself with a tape and a scale, and since July 2025 the primary factor.
Stowability
Whether it loads alongside other freight. Excessive length, an awkward shape, or a hazardous material that cannot travel beside certain goods all cost trailer space that density does not see.
Handling
Whether it moves through a terminal normally. Anything that cannot be forklifted, stacked or conveyed takes labour the weight and cube do not account for.
Liability
What it costs the carrier if it goes wrong: value per pound, fragility, perishability, theft risk, and the chance of damaging the freight around it.
Item number and class are different things
This is the confusion that costs the most time. An NMFC item number identifies a description of a commodity. A freight class is a number a carrier rates from. One item can carry several classes through its subprovisions, chosen by the density of what you actually tendered.
So “what is my NMFC code” and “what is my freight class” are two questions, and only one of them has an answer you can reach on your own. You can measure and weigh a pallet and read its density class off a published scale. You cannot derive the item number for your commodity from first principles, because it is a lookup in a book somebody else publishes.
The eighteen classes, and the five density cannot reach
Eighteen classes are in ordinary use, from 50 for the densest freight to 500 for the lightest. Thirteen of them appear on the density scale NMFTA publishes. Five do not, and that is a useful thing to know when you are looking at a rating you disagree with. What each band means in practice, and what a class does to a bill, is set out under freight class.
A shipment assigned one of those five was not classified on density alone. Producing a better tape measurement will not move it, because the number did not come from a measurement in the first place: it came from the item, and from handling, stowability or liability.
50
density
55
density
60
density
65
density
70
density
77.5
not on scale
85
density
92.5
density
100
density
110
not on scale
125
density
150
not on scale
175
density
200
not on scale
250
density
300
density
400
density
500
not on scale
The labels above are generated from the same density scale that runs our calculator, rather than typed into this page, so the two cannot disagree.
What changed in 2025, and why old charts are wrong
Docket 2025-1 took effect on 19 July 2025. It made density the primary factor rather than one of four weighed together, and it expanded the Freight Classification Development Council’s density scale from eleven subprovisions to thirteen.
The old scale stopped at “30 pounds per cubic foot or greater, class 60”. That band is now three: 30 to under 35 at class 60, 35 to under 50 at class 55, and 50 or greater at class 50. So dense freight can take a lower class than the same freight could have taken before that date, and any chart ending at 60 is wrong in the direction that costs the shipper.
| Sub | Density, pounds per cubic foot | Class |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Less than 1 | 400 |
| 2 | 1 but less than 2 | 300 |
| 3 | 2 but less than 4 | 250 |
| 4 | 4 but less than 6 | 175 |
| 5 | 6 but less than 8 | 125 |
| 6 | 8 but less than 10 | 100 |
| 7 | 10 but less than 12 | 92.5 |
| 8 | 12 but less than 15 | 85 |
| 9 | 15 but less than 22.5 | 70 |
| 10 | 22.5 but less than 30 | 65 |
| 11 | 30 but less than 35 | 60 |
| 12 | 35 but less than 50 | 55 |
| 13 | 50 or greater | 50 |
Put your own dimensions and weight into the freight class calculator and it shows the arithmetic as well as the answer. If you are close to a break, read what the pallet does to the measurement first, because that is where most disagreements start.
Where to actually look up an item
Three places, and none of them is a free lookup site.
- 01
ClassIT+, the official digital NMFC
NMFTA's own subscription product and the authoritative source for item numbers, subprovisions and rule changes. If you classify freight regularly, this is the thing to buy rather than to work around.
- 02
Your carrier's classification desk
Free, and they have the book. They also have an interest in the answer, which is a reason to understand the density arithmetic before you ring rather than instead of ringing.
- 03
NMFTA's interpretations service
For a commodity that genuinely does not fit an existing item. Requests go through the NMFTA store, and the answer is authoritative in a way a carrier's opinion is not.
Questions
- What is the NMFC?
- The National Motor Freight Classification, a system published by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association that assigns commodities to items and gives each item a freight class. Carriers use the class to rate less-than-truckload shipments, so it is what stands between a description of your goods and a price for moving them.
- Is the NMFC mandatory?
- No. NMFTA's own classification FAQ describes it as a voluntary standard for carriers, 3PLs and shippers to use when assigning class. In practice it is the standard, and it is what applies absent anything else the carrier has published, so a carrier's own tariff or your negotiated agreement can displace it.
- What is an NMFC number?
- An item number in the classification, identifying a description of a commodity, for example a family of plastic articles, or a type of machine. The item is what carries the class, and the same item can carry several classes through its subprovisions, chosen by density. An NMFC number and a freight class are not the same thing: the number identifies what you are shipping, the class prices it.
- How many freight classes are there?
- Eighteen in ordinary use, from 50 for the densest freight to 500 for the lightest and most awkward. Only thirteen of them appear on the density scale, which is worth knowing: if your shipment is assigned 77.5, 110, 150, 200 or 500, it was not classified on density alone.
- What are the four classification factors?
- Density, stowability, handling and liability. Density is weight against the space the goods occupy. Stowability is whether they load with other freight. Handling is whether they move through a terminal normally. Liability is what it costs the carrier if the goods are damaged, stolen or damage something else. Since 2025 density is the primary factor, but NMFTA is explicit that items with handling, stowability or liability concerns will not be full density.
- What changed in the NMFC in 2025?
- Docket 2025-1 took effect on 19 July 2025 and did two things. It made density the primary factor in classification rather than one factor among several, and it expanded the Freight Classification Development Council's density scale from eleven subprovisions to thirteen, splitting the old top band and bringing classes 55 and 50 onto the scale. A chart that ends at class 60 predates it and under-classes dense freight.
- Where can I look up an NMFC code?
- ClassIT+, which is NMFTA's official digital version of the classification and is a paid subscription, or your carrier's classification desk, or NMFTA's own interpretations service for a commodity that does not fit neatly. No free tool can honestly hand you item numbers: the item list is NMFTA's copyrighted publication, so a site giving it away is either republishing it or guessing.
- Can I work out my freight class myself?
- You can work out what density alone points to, which since 2025 is the larger part of the answer, and our freight class calculator does it on the current thirteen band scale with the arithmetic shown. What you cannot do without the classification itself is confirm the item number for your commodity, or know whether a handling, stowability or liability concern moves it off its density class.
- Does the NMFC still change?
- Continuously. Docket 2025-2 followed in December 2025, Docket 2026-1 was released in February 2026, and further dockets have opened for public comment since. Most of the recent activity has been cancelling individual commodity items rather than touching the density scale, but the way to know is NMFTA's public docket files rather than any article, this one included.
Sources
- 01NMFC Classification FAQs · NMFTA Help CenterStates that the NMFC is a voluntary standard for carriers, 3PLs and shippers, that density became the primary factor in 2025, and that items with handling, stowability or liability concerns will not be full density.
- 02Can you share with us the density and class breaks for the new 13 sub-structure? · NMFTA Help CenterDocket 2025-1 expanded the eleven subprovision density scale to thirteen: sub 11 became 30 to under 35 at class 60, sub 12 is 35 to under 50 at class 55, and sub 13 is 50 or greater at class 50.
- 03How is the density of a handling unit calculated? · NMFTA Help CenterGreatest straight-line length, width and height in inches including all projections, divided by 1,728, then the weight divided by that. The worked example is 48 by 40 by 45 inches at 450 pounds, which is 9.00 pcf.
- 04Navigating Updates to the National Motor Freight Classification · National Motor Freight Traffic AssociationWhere the current public docket files and the official ClassIT+ subscription live. Classification keeps changing, so this is the page to check rather than any article about it, including this one.
NMFC®, National Motor Freight Classification® and ClassIT+® are registered trademarks of the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, Inc. This page is not affiliated with NMFTA and quotes no part of the classification itself. The list of eighteen classes is the set in general commercial use; the density breaks are taken from NMFTA’s published guidance, which is linked above. Classification changes: check the current dockets before relying on any figure here, including these.
This describes how the rules generally work in the United States and links to the primary sources so you can read them yourself. It is not legal advice, and your contract with a supplier or carrier can change any of it. For money that matters, ask a lawyer.
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