Freight class 250
Enter length, width, height, and weight to see the density and the density-based class.
Freight class
—
- Volume
- — ft³
- Density
- — lb/ft³
- Subprovision
- —
This is a density-based estimate using the 13-subprovision density scale from NMFC Docket NMFC-2025-1. Actual classification is also affected by handling, stowability, and liability characteristics, and the density scale applies only when those issues are absent. Your carrier makes the final call.
| 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 |
Class 250 covers freight from 2 lb/ft³ up to but not including 4 lb/ft³. It is the first of five consecutive bands that are each two pounds per cubic foot wide, and it is the last class in the scale still numbered above 200. Everything denser drops into the low hundreds and then into double digits.
Class 250 by the numbers
Class 250 is subprovision 3 of 13 in the current scale, and NMFTA's published wording for it is "2 but less than 4".
The band one step lighter is class 300 (1.00 ≤ density < 2.00 lb/ft³). The band one step denser is class 175 (4.00 ≤ density < 6.00 lb/ft³).
It spans 2.00 lb/ft³, wider than 1 of the other 10 bounded bands in the scale.
In a handling unit measuring 40 × 48 × 48 in — about 53.33 ft³, an illustrative size rather than a standard pallet specification — class 250 covers shipments weighing 106.67 lb or more but less than 213.33 lb.
Where the scale settles into a regular step
From this band through subprovision 7 the scale runs in even widths: 2 up to 4, 4 up to 6, 6 up to 8, 8 up to 10, 10 up to 12. The class value does not step evenly with them, falling by 75, then 50, then 25, then 7.5. Equal density steps do not buy equal rate steps.
The regularity is still useful for estimating. Inside that run, moving up one band means moving up exactly two pounds of density, and the boundary values repeat, so 4.00, 6.00, 8.00 and 10.00 lb/ft³ are each the start of a band rather than the end of one.
Frequently asked
Is 4.00 lb/ft³ class 250 or class 175?
Class 175. The interval for class 250 is 2 up to but not including 4, so 4.00 lb/ft³ is the first density in the class 175 band.
Why do the class numbers not fall evenly as density rises?
Because the published scale is a table rather than a formula. Across this stretch the bands are equal in width, but the class attached to each one steps down by 75, 50, 25 and then 7.5.