Understanding Freight Class
What Is Freight Class?
Every type of product that a business ships is associated with a National Motor Freight Classification. This in turn relates to a precise freight class number, which typically ranges from 60 to 400. In addition to making sure that all organizations are paying correctly for the actual items they’re shipping, this also helps to avoid the wasting of time, money, and other resources throughout the logistics pipeline.
Why Is It Important?
Freight classes are determined by the National Motor Freight Traffic Association, otherwise known as the NMFTA for short. Because of this standardized measurement, it is possible to have standard pricing across all LTL freight carriers and businesses, dramatically simplifying the process and making it more cost-effective.
LTL Shipping and Metrics
Special Features of LTL
Short for “less-than-truckload,” LTL shipping does not require a business to fill an entire trailer for shipping. Instead, they’re sharing that space with multiple other organizations, thus only paying for the exact amount of space they need to use.
The major difference between this and other types of shipping is that LTL uses a “hub and spoke” shipping model. Instead of shipping items directly from an origin to a destination, LTL loads may go through various distribution centers for unloading, consolidation, and more before final delivery.
Determining Transport Metrics
Carefully figuring out transport details is crucial for improving operations. This process involves identifying and analyzing various key performance indicators (KPIs) to gain insights into the overall performance of a transportation network. Metrics such as travel time, vehicle speed, congestion levels, and reliability play a pivotal role in assessing the effectiveness of a transportation system. By using technologies like GPS and sensors, transportation engineers, urban planners, data analysts, and other stakeholders can collect information in real-time to see what’s going well and where they can improve operations. Analyzing these details helps improve transportation and allows for the development of plans to make it work even better in the future.
Factors for Freight Class
Density
One of the most important factors that determines freight class, beyond the actual commodity being shipped, is density. Take the total cubic feet of the items being shipped and divide by their total weight. The lower the density, the higher the freight class.
Handling, Liability, Stowability
The term “handling” refers to how easy something is to transport. Items that are oddly shaped, hazardous, fragile, or extremely heavy would require special handling and thus additional fees.
Liability relates to how likely an item is to get damaged or stolen in transit. Likewise, it has to do with how likely an item is to damage other items during shipment. The higher the liability, the more you will pay.
Finally, stowability assumes that, provided it has been packaged properly, freight should be easy to stow during transportation. This includes not only in trucks but on trains, boats, and even planes. If a shipment is particularly difficult to load and stow or if certain precautions must be taken, it will usually correspond with a higher freight class.
Calculating Freight Density
Step-by-Step Guide
First, measure the length, width, and height of the shipment in question. Be sure to include all pallets and other packaging materials.
Multiply the height, width, and length measurements together. The number you get is the total cubic inches of the shipment. Divide that number by 1728 to convert it to cubic feet.
Next, find the weight of your shipment, which should be measured in pounds. Once identified, divide the weight by the cubic feet. This will give you the number of pounds per cubic foot, which is otherwise known as density.
At that point, all you have to do is look at the appropriate freight class chart to find the freight class for your shipment.
Freight Class Codes
Classes and Chart
Remember that freight classes are an industry standard, so any freight class chart you look at should contain the same information. If your freight class code is 60, for example, you’re likely shipping something along the lines of car parts or other accessories. A freight class code of 77.5 usually equates to items like tires and bathroom fixtures. A freight class code of 92.5 refers to computers, monitors, refrigerators, and similar large, fragile items.
3PLs and Freight Class
Some third party logistics providers may have their own specific guidelines that you must use when determining freight class. So long as you have measured all your shipments appropriately, this should not be difficult to determine. You’ll still have accurate data to work from when determining which class you fall into (and what rate you will pay), even if the price is ultimately different from what is considered an industry standard.
Optimizing Density
The number one way to optimize the density of your shipments is to make use of every last inch of space available to you. This is why a lot of businesses invest in custom shipping materials that leave little to no wasted space in a box. Doing so may cost a bit more upfront as opposed to using “one size fits all” materials, but it can save you quite a bit of money on logistics costs in the long run.
In other words, there should be as little empty space in a box or package as possible. If you have to, use airbags or bubble wrap to fill in those gaps. This will help provide a cushion to the goods being shipped without adding too much in additional weight.
Speaking of dimensions, you’ll also want to make sure that you’re measuring your shipments as accurately as possible. Even a height that is off by a few inches or a weight that is off by a few pounds can make a major difference in terms of how much you think the load weighs, which will impact density and how much you’ll pay as a result.
Finally, make sure that all shipments are loaded and secured as carefully as possible. Boxes that are shaped similarly should all be grouped together to maximize how much you can fit on a pallet. Heavier items should always be at the bottom to create a stable foundation. Everything needs to be secured in place using plastic wrap to prevent the weight from shifting. The tighter you can pack everything, the more accurately you’ll be able to measure — and the more you’ll save on shipping as well.
If you’d like to find out more information about how to calculate and determine freight class, or if you have any additional questions that you’d like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please feel free to contact Advanced Commercial Capital today.