Freight class chart
This is the density-to-class chart itself, laid out so that it can be read, printed, and cited without the surrounding discussion. It is the same 13-row table the calculator uses, and it carries the docket version, the effective date, and the official density wording for every band. Two things are worth knowing before you use it: the intervals are half-open, and NMFTA publishes a second density table that disagrees with this one.
How to read the intervals
Every band is written the way NMFTA writes it: 6 but less than 8. The stated lower density belongs to the band and the stated upper density does not, so a density of exactly 6.00 lb/ft³ is class 125 while a density of exactly 8.00 lb/ft³ is class 100.
The first band is the exception in the other direction: it has no lower bound at all. The last band (density ≥ 50 lb/ft³) has no upper bound. Between them the bands are contiguous, so every density, including every fraction, falls in exactly one band.
Which of the two tables this is
NMFTA publishes two tables built on density and they do not agree. This chart is the 13-subprovision classification scale, which spans class 50 through 400 and is the table that governs item classification. The other one, the FCDC Density Guidelines, has 18 rows, spans class 50 through 500, gives only a lower bound per row, and is an internal category-assignment aid.
The difference is not cosmetic. For freight under 1 lb/ft³ the guidance table gives class 500 where this chart gives 400, and in the 6-to-7 lb/ft³ range it gives 150 where this chart gives 125. A page that had used the wrong table would look entirely normal and be wrong in several bands.
Printing it and citing it
The rows sit inside a single table so that printing does not separate them from their headings, and the site's navigation and advertising containers are suppressed in print. If you paste the chart into a shipping document, keep the docket version and the effective date next to the numbers — a class value without the version it came from cannot be checked.
If you are citing it, cite the primary source rather than this page, and fall back to the archived copy linked below only if the original is no longer reachable.
Density class per NMFC Docket NMFC-2025-1 (NMFTA Disposition Bulletin 1371), effective 2025-07-19. Density scale: 13 subprovisions, class 50–400. Subject to NMFC Item (Rule) 170.
| Sub | Density (lb/ft³), as published | 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 |
Frequently asked
Why does this chart have 13 rows when another one I have seen has 18?
Because they are two different NMFTA tables. The 18-row FCDC Density Guidelines covers class 50 through 500 and lists only a lower density bound per row. This chart is the 13-subprovision classification scale, which covers class 50 through 400 and gives a bounded interval per row.
What density does class 92.5 apply to?
Class 92.5 is subprovision 7, covering 10 up to but not including 12 lb/ft³. It is the only class in the chart that is not a whole number, which is why class values are treated as text rather than as numbers on this site.
Is this chart enough to classify a shipment?
No. It answers only the density question. A shipment with unusual handling, stowability, or liability characteristics is classified on those characteristics instead, and density classification is subject to NMFC Item (Rule) 170.
Data source verified:
Primary source: NMFTA Disposition Bulletin 1371 — density and class breaks for the 13-subprovision structure
Archived copy: snapshot 0, snapshot 1