The reference shelf
Freight class & LTL guides
Everything the calculators compute, explained — current for the post-2025 NMFC rules, with worked examples you can hand to your ops team.
How to Calculate Freight Class (Step by Step)
The four-step method carriers use: measure, cube, density, class — with worked single- and multi-pallet examples.
Read the guide → ReferenceFreight Class Chart: All 13 NMFC Density Tiers
The current density-to-class chart, what lives in each class, and the legacy 18-class table for old tariffs.
Read the guide → ReferenceNMFC Codes Explained: Finding Your Freight Class
What an NMFC item number actually is, when density decides, when the commodity does, and how to look yours up.
Read the guide → RulesThe 2025 NMFC Changes, in Plain English
Docket 2025-1 moved most freight to a 13-tier density scale. What changed, who won, and what to re-check.
Read the guide → FundamentalsDimensional Weight in Freight: Divisors & Formulas
139, 166, 6,000 — what the divisors mean, when DIM weight applies, and how chargeable weight is picked.
Read the guide → Load planningHow Many Pallets Fit on a 53-Foot Trailer?
26 straight, up to 30 turned, 52 double-stacked — the actual math, by pallet size and trailer type.
Read the guide → PricingHow Freight Class Affects Your LTL Rates
Why class 125 freight costs so much more than class 70, where reclass fees come from, and how to fight both.
Read the guide → Air freightAir Freight Chargeable Weight, Explained
Volumetric weight at 6,000 cm³/kg (≈166 in³/lb), how chargeable weight is picked, and worked examples.
Read the guide → PricingWhat LTL Freight Shipping Actually Costs
The seven inputs that set an LTL price, realistic cost ranges, and how to make any quote come in lower.
Read the guide → RiskFreight Insurance: What It Costs & When Carrier Liability Isn't Enough
Carrier liability pays by the pound, not by value. When that math fails you, what real cargo insurance costs, and how to run the numbers.
Read the guide → Commodity classesFreight Class for Furniture: Sofas, Tables & Flat-Packs
Assembled furniture ships mostly air — class 175–250. Flat-packs ride at 100–125. The density math, the NMFC items, and how packing changes the class.
Read the guide → Commodity classesFreight Class for Machinery & Equipment
Most crated machines land at class 100–85; cast-iron machine tools drop to 70–60. Density by machine type, crated vs skidded, and the $0.10/lb used-equipment liability trap.
Read the guide → PricingFreight Rates Per Mile in 2026: LTL, FTL & Reefer
Vans at $3.01 all-in, reefers $3.42, flatbeds $3.64 — the July 2026 DAT averages, the $2.336/mile cost floor, fuel surcharge math, and why LTL doesn't price per mile.
Read the guide → FundamentalsHow to Ship a Pallet: Costs, Steps & Mistakes
Build it on a 48×40, wrap it, keep it under 72 inches, class it by density — the six-step process, 2026 costs by distance, and the fees that ambush first-timers.
Read the guide → PricingWhy Freight Quotes Come In Wrong (and the 9-Point Fix)
About one in four LTL shipments gets re-rated after pickup. The nine inputs that set the price, what each miss costs — $50–$150 inspections, 10–35% reclasses — and the checklist that makes the invoice match the quote.
Read the guide → PricingLTL vs FTL: The Real Break-Even Point
Below 6 pallets LTL wins; past 10 it rarely does. The 2026 break-even table by pallet count, the 12-linear-foot trap, and the four checks that pick the mode.
Read the guide → PricingReweigh & Reclassification Fees: How to Dispute (and Prevent) Them
About 1 in 4 LTL shipments gets re-rated at the dock. What the fees cost — $36–$150 plus a 10–20% re-rate — the 5-step dispute playbook, and the habits that cut rebills to 1%.
Read the guide → FundamentalsThe Bill of Lading, Field by Field
Every box on the standard LTL BOL explained — description, NMFC, class, weight, terms — the worked commodity line, what killed Section 7, and the 60-second check before the driver arrives.
Read the guide → Ocean freightSea Freight Math: CBM, W/M & Ocean Chargeable Weight
LCL bills the greater of cubic meters and metric tons — 1 CBM vs 1,000 kg. The W/M formula, a line-by-line quote example, 2026 rates per CBM, and the 13–15 CBM break-even where FCL wins.
Read the guide → Commodity classesFreight Class for Auto Parts: Engines, Tires & Body Panels
A drained transmission rates class 55–50; a boxed fender can rate 250. Density bands by part type, the engine NMFC 120790 subs, why tires ignore density math, and the $0.10/lb core-return trap.
Read the guide → Load planningPackaging Changes That Lower Your Freight Class
Same freight, less air: right-sized cartons, knocked-down packing and smarter load heights move whole density tiers. Worked math takes the same 440 lb from class 175 to class 85.
Read the guide → PricingFreight Quoting Software in 2026: What Actually Speeds Up Quotes
A rating API prices an LTL shipment in ~3 seconds, yet forwarders average 90 hours to answer — and ~7 in 10 requests get no reply at all. The 2026 stack from free tiers to $149/mo, the quote-desk math, and the bad-inputs problem no engine fixes.
Read the guide → CarriersFedEx Freight Class: How It Works (+ Free Calculator)
Density first on the NMFC's 13-tier scale — enforced by FedEx Freight since December 1, 2025 — with the pallet in the weight. The published table, the worked math, the January 2026 GRI, and what the FDXF spin-off changes.
Read the guide → FundamentalsFreight Density Examples: 20 Real Shipments Worked Out
Tile at 64 lb/ft³, sofas at 2.9, books at 21.5 — twenty real handling units cubed, divided and classed across all 13 density tiers, plus the tires exception the chart cannot price.
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