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.

The class determines the cost of the shipping. The lower the class, the lower the cost.

No. While density is one of the primary factors in determining NMFC freight class, other factors, such as value, are also used in making that determination. Gold bars, for example, are very dense, but they fall into shipping class 500 along with very low-density items because of their high value.