Building Materials, Miscellaneous

What is Freight Class?

Freight class is a standard classification system for shipments, defined by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA). It's used to categorize commodities like Building Materials, Miscellaneous for transport, taking into account factors like weight, dimensions, density, storage capability, ease of handling, and liability. Freight class is a system to categorize different types of goods being shipped.

How to determine Freight Class

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Density

Density is a key concept in freight shipping, as it significantly impacts the freight class for commodities like Building Materials, Miscellaneous and hence, the shipping cost. It is calculated as the weight of the shipment divided by its volume. It's the measure of how compact a shipment is in freight shipping.

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STOWABILITY

Stowability is used in freight shipping to describe how easily an item can be stowed or stored in relation to other items. For example, when trying to understand stowability for Building Materials, Miscellaneous, it is important to know if the item can be packaged efficiently and stowed onto the truck easily. In other words- Stowability is the factor that assesses how well an item can be loaded onto a truck.

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LIABILITY

Liability is a term used to refer to the accountability or risk involved in transporting Building Materials, Miscellaneous. It's one of the factors considered when determining freight class. Liability is the responsibility assumed for any potential issues that may arise during the transport of goods.

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HANDLING

Handling refers to the procedures and precautions taken when moving and storing Building Materials, Miscellaneous. It is one of the factors considered when determining freight class for Building Materials, Miscellaneous. Handling is about the procedures followed when moving freight.

Freight Class Commodities

Tips

Forms Or Molds

Plywood

Seals

Tape

Wood

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70

100

85

55

Faced with aluminum on one or both sides, painted or not painted, in packages, or securely braced and fastened to pallet, also applies on accompanying accessories necessary for installation.

Double pane window glass, extruded rubber or plastic, with wire core, frozen, applies on sealing material in extruded strip form, used to convert single pane windows to double pane (insulated) windows, shipped in a frozen state to prevent catalytic action, in boxes

Wallboard joining combined with aluminum, in boxes

Built-up covered with iron or steel, in crates

Common Commodity Items

Classes

NMFC® SUBCLASSES

For many NMFC® codes there isn’t just one single class that is applied. Often, NMFC® numbers have multiple "sub-classes", which are almost always based on the density of the shipment. In the instance where your NMFC® number has multiple sub classes, it's best to contact an expert, like Koho, to help identify which subclass to use.

FAQs

What is the NMFC code?

The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) created the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). It is used for all interstate, intrastate, and foreign commercial movement of LTL cargo. NMFC codes provide standardized freight classes to determine the transportability of the large variety of commodities that are shipped together in LTL shipments every year.

What is a CWT rate?

CWT stands for hundredweight. LTL shipments are priced “per 100 pounds,” “cwt,” or “per hundredweight.” This means that a 400 lb shipment priced at $25 CWT would cost $100, not including accessories or specialty services.