Freight class 400
Enter length, width, height, and weight to see the density and the density-based class.
Freight class
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- 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 400 covers freight measuring less than 1 lb/ft³, which makes it both the lightest band in the 13-subprovision scale and the one carrying the highest class number. It is also the only band with no lower density bound: NMFTA's published wording is simply "Less than 1", so the scale has no floor and no shipment is too light to classify.
Class 400 by the numbers
Class 400 is subprovision 1 of 13 in the current scale, and NMFTA's published wording for it is "Less than 1".
There is no lighter band: this is the first subprovision, and its lower bound is open. The band one step denser is class 300 (1.00 ≤ density < 2.00 lb/ft³).
The band is open at the bottom, so it has no lower density limit and no width to compare.
In a handling unit measuring 40 × 48 × 48 in — about 53.33 ft³, an illustrative size rather than a standard pallet specification — class 400 covers shipments weighing less than 53.33 lb.
What 400 does not mean
Two things about this band are easy to get wrong. The first is that 400 is the top of this scale, not the top of the NMFC class system, which runs from 50 to 500. Densities can only produce classes from 400 down to 50 here, so a figure of 500 for very light freight is the signature of the other NMFTA density table, which this site deliberately does not use.
The second is that the band never closes. Because NMFTA's wording is "Less than 1" rather than a bounded interval, a density of 0.02 and a density of 0.98 lb/ft³ are both class 400. There is nothing below the band to fall out of.
Frequently asked
Why does the first band have no lower density limit?
Because that is how NMFTA words it. NMFTA's wording for it is "Less than 1" rather than two bounds, so the band is open at the bottom by design. Any density below 1 lb/ft³ falls into it, however small.
Is class 400 the highest freight class there is?
It is the highest class in this density scale. The NMFC class system as a whole runs from 50 to 500, so class 500 exists as a category, but it is not a density-band class and this scale stops at 400.