Freight class refers to a shipping method that is often used by businesses or individuals who need to mail large or bulky shipments. Most carriers follow the system of the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, which assigns a freight class to each type of shipment. A shipment is placed into any of 18 classes that are largely based on density. Other factors that impact the class of a
. shipment include handling characteristics, how much the shipment is worth, weight, the fragility of the items and distance traveled. The higher the number, the more expensive the shipping cost. Ping pong balls, which are light but lack density, are placed into the highest class, which is 500. On the other end of the scale, the lowest freight class is 50. A shipment of paper is scored as a 50 for a few main reasons: it is dense, it does not have much value and it is difficult to damage.The user can calculate the density of a particular shipment by visiting http://freight88.com/tools/density-calculator.php. This page contains a calculator that asks for the total weight of the shipment, how many items are included and the dimensions of each item. It then reports the total cubic feet and the number of pounds per cubic foot (PCF). A chart below these statistics explains which freight class is assigned to that shipment based on its PCF.A chart posted at http://www.tadmoretrans.com/Freight_Class_Chart.html contains additional explanations. According to this page, a shipment such as a bundle of feathers has high density, which correlates with a higher freight class. A shipment of lead pipes has low density, so it is assigned to a much lower freight class.Another freight class calculator is available http://www.dnafreight.com/freight-class-calculator.jsp. The use enters the height, length, width and weight of the shipment to find out which freight class it most likely fits. More reference links: http://www.efreightline.com/LTL-Freight-Shipping-Guide http://www.freightclasses.net/