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 Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments 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.
Density is a key concept in freight shipping, as it significantly impacts the freight class for commodities like Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments and hence, the shipping cost. It is calculated as the weight of the shipment divided by its volume. Density is a key parameter for determining the freight class of a shipment.
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 Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments, it is important to know if the item can be packaged efficiently and stowed onto the truck easily. In other words- It's a factor that determines how efficiently a shipment can be stowed for transport.
Liability is a term used to refer to the accountability or risk involved in transporting Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments. It's one of the factors considered when determining freight class. It's the financial responsibility for damage or loss that occurs during shipment.
Handling refers to the procedures and precautions taken when moving and storing Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments. It is one of the factors considered when determining freight class for Drawing Instruments, Optical Goods or Scientific Instruments. It's the operations involved in safely transporting freight.
Tips
Cable
Scientific Instruments
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200
NOI, in boxes or drums
Common Commodity Items
Classes
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.
National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) is the freight classification system that was created by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) and is used for all interstate, intrastate, and foreign commerce movement of LTL cargo. NMFC codes provide standardized freight classes to determine the transportability of most of the countless different commodities that are shipped together in LTL shipments each year.
Every commodity has both a freight class and a NMFC code. Freight class represents a category of items while NMFC codes relate to specific commodities within each of the 18 freight classes.
