LTL freight is priced on classification, classification is driven largely by density, and density is decided by how your shipment is packed. That chain means packaging is not a cost centre sitting beside your freight bill, it is an input into it. A load that ships as a loosely stacked, over-tall pallet can classify worse and cost more than the identical goods packed tightly into a crate built to fit them. Here is how the calculation works, what changed with the NMFC overhaul, and what you can actually do about it.
What Is Freight Class?
Freight class is a standardised code, running from Class 50 to Class 500, that LTL carriers use to price shipments. It is assigned under the National Motor Freight Classification maintained by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, and it reflects four characteristics:
- Density. Weight relative to the space occupied, measured in pounds per cubic foot.
- Stowability. How readily the freight loads and stores alongside other goods.
- Handling. Whether it needs special care or equipment.
- Liability. Risk from value, fragility, damage or theft.
The general relationship: higher density means a lower class number, and a lower class number usually means a lower rate. Class 50 is dense, durable freight. Class 500 is light, bulky, awkward or high risk freight. Everything else sits between.
What Changed With the NMFC Overhaul
The NMFTA's classification reimagination programme restructured the system in phases. Docket 2025-1 took effect 19 July 2025, Docket 2025-2 followed on 6 December 2025, and Docket 2026-1 took effect 23 May 2026 - with further phases expected to continue. The stated aims were to simplify classification, improve accuracy on first attempt, and reduce friction between shippers, carriers and 3PLs. The main structural changes:
- A standardised density scale applied to freight without special handling, stowability or liability considerations, replacing a patchwork of commodity specific rules.
- Unique identifiers for freight that does carry special handling, stowability or liability needs.
- Condensed and modernised commodity listings, with many older item numbers eliminated or changed.
- An improved ClassIT lookup tool for determining classification.
The practical effect for shippers: density now determines classification for a much larger share of freight than before. If your goods previously classified under a commodity specific rule, they may now sit on the density scale, and your class may have moved without anything about your product changing. Anyone still shipping on classifications they set before mid 2025 should audit them.
The NMFTA publishes its own summaries of the changes, and its newsroom coverage is the authoritative starting point rather than any secondhand account, including this one.
How to Calculate Freight Density
Density in pounds per cubic foot equals total shipment weight divided by total cubic feet.
Step by step:
- Measure length, width and height in inches at the greatest points, including the pallet and any overhang.
- Multiply the three to get cubic inches.
- Divide by 1,728 to get cubic feet.
- Divide total weight, including pallet and packaging, by cubic feet.
Worked example:
A 400 pound shipment on a standard 48 by 40 inch pallet, stacked to 48 inches tall including the pallet, occupies 92,160 cubic inches, which is 53.3 cubic feet. Density is 400 divided by 53.3, or roughly 7.5 pounds per cubic foot.
Repack the same 400 pounds into a crate measuring 48 by 40 by 36 inches and the volume drops to 40 cubic feet. Density rises to 10 pounds per cubic foot. Same goods, same weight, one third less air, and a meaningfully better density figure feeding into classification.
That is the whole argument in one calculation. You are not shipping goods, you are shipping a rectangular volume, and you pay for all of it including the empty parts.
Who Gains and Who Loses Under Density Based Pricing
| Freight profile | Typical characteristics | Likely direction |
|---|---|---|
| Low density | Bulky, light: furniture, bedding, foam products, empty containers, display materials | Higher cost. Most exposed to reclassification |
| Mid density | Mixed goods, packaged consumer products | Variable. Depends where it lands on the scale |
| High density | Compact and heavy: metal parts, tooling, machinery components, printed materials | Stable or improved |
| Special handling | Fragile, hazardous, oversized, high value | Classified separately from the density scale, see custom crating |
If you ship low density freight, you already know, because your rates told you. The relevant question is no longer whether you are affected but whether your packaging is doing anything about it.
Six Ways to Improve Your Density
- Build to the item, not to a stock size. The single largest source of wasted volume in most shipments is a container chosen from a shelf rather than sized to what is inside. Custom crates remove that permanently.
- Reduce stack height. Height is the dimension shippers most often overspend on. Every inch of unused vertical space is paid for on every leg.
- Eliminate overhang. Anything extending past the pallet edge is measured at its greatest point and creates handling problems as well as volume.
- Use the right pallet footprint. A load on an oversized pallet is measured at the pallet. Custom pallets sized to the load are cheaper than the volume they save.
- Consolidate. Combining a light, bulky shipment with denser goods raises the average density of the consignment. Cross docking and 3PL services exist for this.
- Design knock down for return legs. Empty containers are the lowest density freight there is. Reusable and knock down crates ship back flat, or stay in local storage and do not ship back at all.
Note the tension worth naming: density and protection can pull in opposite directions. Cushioning takes volume. The answer is not to strip protection out, it is to design the container so protection sits where it is needed and nowhere else, which is what building to the item achieves. The structural reasoning is in our guide to how wood crates are engineered.
Get Your Measurements Right
Under density based classification, inaccurate dimensions on a bill of lading are a billing risk in both directions. Understate them and you invite a reweigh, a reclassification and an adjustment charge. Overstate them and you simply pay too much.
- Measure the finished, packed shipment, including pallet, wrapping and any protrusion, at the greatest point in each dimension.
- Weigh it packed, not by adding up product weights.
- Record density on the bill of lading along with the NMFC item number and class.
- Re-audit after any packaging change. A new box size or pallet spec changes the numbers.
We provide finished dimensions and gross weight for every crate we build, so the figures on your bill of lading come from the container rather than from an estimate.
How We Help
- Crates and pallets built to the load. Crate fabrication and custom pallets sized to your goods rather than to a catalogue.
- Documented dimensions and weights for accurate classification and bills of lading.
- Reusable and knock down designs so return legs do not ship air.
- Consolidation and staging through cross docking and warehouse storage.
- Compliance for export freight, including ISPM 15 heat treatment and stamping applied in house on international shipments.
If you are unsure whether the right conversation is with us, a carrier, a forwarder or a broker, our explainer on forwarders and brokers covers the difference, and our post on parcel versus LTL versus crated freight covers which system your shipment belongs in.
Have Your Freight Profile Reviewed
Send us what you ship, how it is currently packed, its dimensions and weight, and your typical lanes. We will calculate your current density, tell you whether packaging changes would move your classification, and quote the build if they would. If your freight is already dense and well packed, we will tell you there is nothing to gain. Call 702-748-4973 or 1-833-801-9084 toll free, email contact@lasvegascrating.com, or request a quote online. More on the cost reasoning in how custom crates save money.