What is an NMFC code?

The item number — and sub-provision, where there is one — under which a commodity is listed in the National Motor Freight Classification. It tells the carrier the freight's class, so it goes on the bill of lading with the description.

Is the NMFC mandatory?

No. NMFTA describes it as a voluntary standard that participants are neither constrained nor compelled to use. In practice US less-than-truckload carriers price by it, so shippers use it to avoid a reclass.

What changed in the NMFC in 2025?

Docket 2025-1, effective 19 July 2025, replaced the 11-step density scale with a 13-step one and moved more than 2,000 items to full density-based classification. Later dockets have moved more.

Reference

NMFC (National Motor Freight Classification)

The National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) is the US standard, published by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, that gives every commodity an item number and a freight class from 50 to 500. Less-than-truckload carriers price shipments by it, and since 19 July 2025 many more items are classed by density alone.

Also called National Motor Freight Classification, NMFC code, NMFC number, NMFC density scaleApplies in USUpdated 12 October 2026

What the NMFC is

The NMFC lists commodities as numbered items, some split into sub-provisions, each with a freight class. It is a voluntary standard: NMFTA's own guidance says participants are neither constrained nor compelled to use its provisions — but US less-than-truckload carriers price by it, so a shipper who ignores it pays for the carrier's reading instead.

The 2025 changes

Docket 2025-1 took effect on 19 July 2025.
The old 11-step density scale was replaced by a more detailed 13-step scale.
More than 2,000 items moved to full density-based classification, and later dockets — 2026-2 among them — have moved more.

The 13-step density scale

Density (lb/ft³)	Density (kg/m³)	Class
Less than 1	Under 16	400
1 to under 2	16 to 32	300
2 to under 4	32 to 64	250
4 to under 6	64 to 96	175
6 to under 8	96 to 128	125
8 to under 10	128 to 160	100
10 to under 12	160 to 192	92.5
12 to under 15	192 to 240	85
15 to under 22.5	240 to 360	70
22.5 to under 30	360 to 481	65
30 to under 35	481 to 561	60
35 to under 50	561 to 801	55
50 or more	801 or more	50

NMFC standard density scale (Disposition Bulletin 1371). kg/m³ converted at 1 lb/ft³ = 16.02 kg/m³

Worked example: measure the overhang

NMFTA's method multiplies length × width × height in inches, including all projections, and divides by 1,728. A 48 × 40 in pallet of cartons 45 in high, weighing 450 lb, is 9 lb/ft³ measured at the pallet — class 100. But if the cartons overhang 2 in on every side:

52 × 44 × 45 ÷ 1,728 = 59.6 ft³ → 450 ÷ 59.6 = 7.55 lb/ft³ → class 125

Four inches of overhang each way moves the pallet up a class — and the carrier will measure it.

The mistake people make

Classing from an old item list. An item that carried a fixed class before July 2025 may now be classed by density, and a bill of lading that still shows the old class invites a reclass and a corrected invoice.

FAQ