How much weight do I need to hit a freight class?

Freight class is set by density (weight per cubic foot), and each class covers a density band. At a fixed pallet size, multiply the class's density floor and ceiling by your volume in cubic feet to get the weight range that lands in that class. Add weight to reach a lower, cheaper class; a lighter shipment moves to a higher, more expensive one.

What density does each NMFC class require?

On the NMFTA 13-subprovision density scale effective July 19, 2025 — unchanged through Docket 2026-1 (May 23, 2026) — Class 50 is 50 PCF and up, Class 70 is 15 to under 22.5 PCF, Class 100 is 8 to under 10 PCF, and Class 400 is anything under 1 PCF. A density on a band boundary belongs to the denser, cheaper class.

Target Freight Class Calculator

Work the density scale backwards. Pick the NMFC class you want, enter one pallet or crate, and get the exact weight range that lands the shipment in that class — the number to hit when you’re consolidating, adding filler, or checking a quote.

Target NMFC class

Lower class = denser freight = cheaper to ship.

Length (in)

Width (in)

Height (in)

Weight to bill as Class 70

0 PCF × 0 cu ft

lb at this footprint

NMFC Class —

Hitting a class on purpose

Freight class isn’t a label you pick — it’s decided by density, the shipment’s weight divided by the space it takes up. Every class owns a slice of the density scale, so if you know the pallet’s footprint you can work the math backwards: the weight it takes to reach a class is that class’s density band multiplied by the volume in cubic feet.

That’s the number worth knowing before you build a load. Add weight or consolidate two light pallets into one and the density climbs into a lower, cheaper class. Ship it light and bulky and it floats up to a higher, costlier one. Same freight, very different bill.

You can’t argue a carrier out of a class — but you can build the shipment that earns the one you want.

The 2025 density bands

These are the density floors on the NMFTA scale that took effect July 19, 2025, unchanged through Docket 2026-1. A density sitting exactly on a boundary belongs to the denser (lower, cheaper) class — 15.0 PCF is Class 70, not 85.

NMFC Class	Density (PCF)

Where this stops being enough

This tool sizes one handling unit against one target class. A real shipment with several different pallets on one BOL line is rated on its aggregate density — every unit’s weight and volume summed, then divided once. If you’re planning a mixed load to a target class, that’s the number that decides the bill, and it’s the job of the Pro aggregate calculator below.