The class picks which column of the carrier rate table your shipment is priced from.
The four things a class is graded on
The classification does not grade a commodity on what it is worth or how far it travels. It grades four transportation characteristics, described by the NMFTA on nmfta.org, read 2026-07-28.
| Characteristic | What the carrier is grading | Where it shows up on your load |
|---|---|---|
| Density | How heavy the freight is relative to the space it takes up | The one input you can work out yourself with a tape measure |
| Handling | How easy it is to move across a dock and into or out of a trailer | Odd shapes, no forklift slots, loose pieces nobody can grab |
| Stowability | How effectively it can be stowed in a trailer for transport | Long articles, regulated goods, anything nothing can sit on top of |
| Liability | How likely the freight is to cause damage or be damaged | Fragile, high value or theft prone goods |
Density is the only one of the four a shipper can compute. The other three are judgements the classification already made about your commodity, and they are why two pallets of identical weight and size can carry different classes.
What the number actually changes
It selects the rate, it is not the rate
An LTL charge is built per hundred pounds, and the carrier holds a different figure for each class in each weight bracket. Moving from class 100 to class 85 is not a negotiation; it is a move to a different column of the same published table.
Leaving it blank is still a decision
Old Dominion states in the accessorial reference it publishes from tariff ODFL 100-Q, effective January 7, 2026, that failure to list a class or description defaults the shipment to class 100. A blank line on the document picks a class for you, and rarely the one you wanted.
The terminal scale settles it
That same document reserves the carrier the right to inspect the contents of packages and weigh the shipment against what the bill of lading claims, and makes the customer liable for charges based on the correct description and weight. Your class is an opening statement.
The classification is being rewritten around density
For decades most commodities carried a class fixed by their own item number in the book. That is changing. The NMFTA moved the bulk of the classification onto a density scale in 2025 and is working through further dockets.
| Date | Docket | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| July 19, 2025 | Docket 2025-1 | Most commodity specific classes replaced by a density scale, which the NMFTA describes as phase one of a larger overhaul |
| Through 2025 | Later dockets | The NMFTA states that additional reclassifications and rule updates are expected in future dockets |
| February 6, 2026 | Docket 2026-1 | Old Dominion lists this release as carrying further item cancellations |
The practical effect is that the density figure you can compute yourself now decides more shipments than it used to, and a class somebody typed onto a packing sheet in 2019 is worth rechecking before it goes on a document again.
Where this sits next to what we sell
We sell US domestic parcel labels directly. SMKlog sells parcel labels only and does not arrange pallet or freight shipments. A freight carrier prices a pallet against its own tariff, and the class is one of the first things it asks for.
Check whether it is still a parcel See the whole class ladder
Freight class questions
What is freight class?
It is a number from 50 to 500, published by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, that tells an LTL carrier how difficult a commodity is to carry. Carriers hold a separate rate for each class, so the number selects which rate applies to your shipment.
What decides a freight class?
Four transportation characteristics: density, handling, stowability and liability. Density is weight against the space the load occupies, and it is the only one of the four a shipper can measure before calling a carrier.
What happens if I leave the class off the bill of lading?
Old Dominion states in its published accessorial reference that failure to list a class or description defaults the shipment to class 100. The carrier may also inspect and weigh the freight and rebill against the correct description.
Does a lower class always mean a cheaper shipment?
Not on its own. The class picks the rate column, but the weight bracket, the lane, the fuel surcharge and every accessorial at each end still apply, and a small shipment can land on the carrier minimum charge whatever its class.