Estimate the freight class before the quote.

Your freight

Use the packed outside dimensions. Weight is per piece; pieces can be pallets, crates, or cartons.

Common questions

Why does density decide the class rather than weight?

Because a trailer runs out of space long before it runs out of weight. A carrier is selling floor and cube, so the question that sets the rate is how much weight your freight brings per cubic foot it occupies. Density is total weight divided by total cube, and the class bands here run from class 50 at 50 lb/ft³ and up, down to class 500 below 0.5 lb/ft³. Light, bulky freight is expensive to move for exactly the reason it feels cheap to lift.

How close am I to the next class down?

The estimate answers it in inches and pounds rather than in density, because nobody ships a lb/ft³. The worked example is a single 48″ × 40″ × 36″ pallet at 500 lb: 40 ft³, 12.5 lb/ft³, class 85. The next band down, class 77.5, starts at 13.5 lb/ft³, and the page states what that costs you on the dock — pack the same 500 lb to 33.3″ instead of 36″, or leave the height alone and put 540 lb on the pallet. Those are the only two levers in the formula: the footprint is the pallet and the weight is the goods, so height and load are what a shipper can actually move. Sometimes 2.7 inches is a strap pulled tighter. Sometimes it is not available, and it is worth knowing that before you quote rather than after.

How much taller can the pallet get before it costs me a class?

The estimate states that too, and it is the number that catches people out. Class is set by the dimensions the carrier measures, not the ones on your bill of lading, and a dimensioner reading two inches of stretch wrap you did not count re-rates the shipment after it has shipped. The worked example above has 1.5″ of headroom: at 500 lb on a 48″ × 40″ footprint, anything over 37.5″ falls out of class 85 and into 92.5. When that clearance is under half an inch the page says the freight is on the band line instead of quoting a headroom figure, because at that point a tape measure and a dimensioner disagreeing is enough to change the bill.

Which dimensions do I measure?

The packed outside dimensions, including the pallet, the stretch wrap, and anything that overhangs. Not the box, not the product. A carrier dimensioner measures the space your freight actually occupies on the trailer, so measuring the carton and ignoring a 2-inch overhang is how an estimate and a re-class notice end up disagreeing. Height is measured from the floor, pallet included.

Is weight per piece or for the whole shipment?

Per piece — and pieces means identical ones. The estimate multiplies both cube and weight by the piece count, so density is unchanged by how many identical pallets you ship. That is correct for density, and it is also why a mixed shipment cannot be estimated in one pass here: if your pallets differ, run the heavy configuration and the light one separately, because the real shipment classes as its parts rather than its average.

Why isn’t this an official freight class?

Because density is only one of the four things that set an NMFC classification. Handling, stowability, and liability — how fragile, how stackable, how valuable and how prone to theft or damage — can move the class regardless of how dense the freight is, and many commodities have their own NMFC item number that is not density-based at all. This is a planning estimate for the density half. Verify it with your carrier or a qualified freight professional before booking, and expect accessorials (liftgate, residential, inside delivery) to sit on top of whatever the class turns out to be.

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

No account and no network requests — the estimate runs entirely in your browser. Nothing about your freight is sent anywhere. The usage counter is a local, opt-out tally of which features were used, never your dimensions or weights.

Are my numbers saved, and can I share them?

Your last entry is saved in this browser's local storage, so refreshing the page or coming back later restores it — nothing is uploaded. “Copy shareable link” puts the same dimensions, weight, and piece count in the page's URL fragment (after the #) instead, so sending that link to a broker or coworker opens this page with the exact same freight estimated, without either of you retyping anything. A link takes priority over a saved draft when you open one.