Freight class glossary
The density scale behind a freight class comes with its own vocabulary: subprovisions, Item (Rule) 170, and the three characteristics that decide when a density band does not apply at all. Each entry below defines one term, says which document it comes from, and links to the pages that use it.
How to use this glossary
A term appears here only when no other page on this site already explains it and a first-party document defines it. That keeps the glossary from becoming a second, thinner copy of the reference pages, and it is the reason the list is short.
Every entry ends with the documents its definition comes from. Where two terms only make sense next to each other, they link to each other, so no entry can be reached in one direction only.
Terms in this glossary
- NMFC National Motor Freight Classification
- The National Motor Freight Classification assigns LTL freight to classes 50 to 500. What it is, where density fits in, and what it does not decide.
- Subprovision A numbered row of the NMFC density scale
- A subprovision is one numbered row of the NMFC density scale: a density interval and the class attached to it. The current scale has 13, expanded from 11.
- NMFC Item (Rule) 170 The rule density-based entries are published against
- NMFC Item (Rule) 170 is the rule density-based entries are published against. Why those entries read Subject to Item 170, and what that means in practice.
- Stowability How freight fits in the trailer with other freight
- Stowability covers how freight fits in the trailer with other freight. When it is unusual or significant, the density scale is not the answer.
- Liability Value and theft risk, as an NMFC characteristic
- In the NMFC, liability is the freight's value and whether extra security precautions are needed against theft. It can decide a class instead of density.
- Handling Loading equipment and precautions, as an NMFC characteristic
- Handling covers whether freight needs special loading equipment or precautions. When that is unusual or significant, density is not the deciding factor.
Frequently asked
Why does this glossary have so few entries?
Because an entry has to clear two bars: no other page on this site may already explain the term, and a first-party document has to define it. Shorthand that the freight industry uses loosely but the published classification does not define is left out rather than filled in from memory.
Where do the definitions come from?
From NMFTA's own wording wherever it exists — the Help Center FAQ on the 13-subprovision structure and Disposition Bulletin 1371 — and from FedEx Freight's class calculator for the four transportation characteristics it names. Each entry lists its own sources.