Density is one of four
FedEx Freight names density, stowability, handling and liability as the characteristics behind a classification. A calculator can only see the first, which is why it returns an estimate rather than a ruling.
Freight class
The FedEx freight class calculator, after the split
The tool has moved. FedEx Freight became an independent company on June 1, 2026, and its class calculator went with it to fedexfreight.com, leaving the old fedex.com address as a signpost. What the calculator does has not changed: four measurements go in, a density estimate comes out, and the number on the invoice is still decided somewhere else. Pages read 2026-07-29.
Carrier wording quotedRead 2026-07-29Three shipments worked
One number, two owners
The classification belongs to a national tariff. The rate attached to it belongs to the carrier.
Start with the address, because it changed
Anyone who bookmarked the FedEx class calculator before this summer is now landing on a redirect. The old page at fedex.com carries one line of explanation, read 2026-07-29: “FedEx Freight became an independent less-than-truckload (LTL) company on June 1st. The new calculating your freight class page has the information you need.” The separation notice on fedexfreight.com dates it precisely, stating that FedEx Freight became an independent company on June 1, 2026, and that LTL shipping is now done directly on fedexfreight.com.
Two consequences for a shipper. Old logins and old bookmarks are not carried over automatically — the separation notice tells LTL customers they need a new login for the freight site. And a quote pulled from the parcel side of FedEx and a quote pulled from the freight side are now genuinely two companies' quotes, which is worth remembering before treating them as one account.
What the tool computes, in one line
Density. Length, width and height give cubic feet; the shipping weight including packaging divided by those cubic feet gives pounds per cubic foot; the answer lands in a band and the band names a class between 50 and 500. FedEx Freight states the source of the ladder plainly on that page, read 2026-07-29: “Your less-than-truckload (LTL) freight shipping class is a number established by the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC).” The tariff behind it is described as a publication for motor carriers containing rules, descriptions and ratings of all commodities.
Measure it packed
Give the tool the load as the driver will find it — on the pallet, wrapped, with the skid height included and the gross weight for every piece. Measuring the product instead of the shipment is the most common way to get a class that will not survive the dock.
A commodity can outrank the math
Plenty of goods carry their own item number in the classification, and that number governs whatever the density works out to. The calculator has no way of knowing which.
If you want the arithmetic without leaving this site, our freight class calculator runs in the browser and shows the cubic feet and the density alongside the band, and the class chart lays out all eighteen rungs and how each is reached.
Three shipments, their density, and what a parcel network wanted for them
The three cartons below are ordinary freight, measured and weighed, then run through the density arithmetic. Each one was also quoted as a parcel on the same day, on the same lane, so the two systems can be read side by side rather than argued about.
| Carton | Measured | Cubic feet | Density | Estimated class | Cheapest parcel rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ceramic floor tiles | 20 × 16 × 10 in 90 lb | 1.85 | 48.6 lb/cu ft | 55 | $100.08 UPS Ground, 4-5 business days |
| Automotive alternator | 16 × 14 × 12 in 45 lb | 1.56 | 28.9 lb/cu ft | 65 | $43.09 UPS Ground, 4-5 business days |
| Foam mattress topper | 30 × 20 × 20 in 12 lb | 6.94 | 1.7 lb/cu ft | 300 | $77.56 UPS Ground, 4-5 business days |
Read the last two rows together. The topper weighs a quarter of what the alternator weighs and cost nearly twice as much to move, because a parcel network bills the space a box occupies once that space outweighs the scale reading. UPS publishes the arithmetic on its support pages, read 2026-07-29: dimensional weight is length times width times height divided by a divisor, 139 for daily rates and 166 for retail rates, with any fraction increased to the next whole pound. At 30 by 20 by 20 the topper is 12,000 cubic inches, so on the daily divisor it bills as 87 lb rather than 12.
The LTL side reaches the same verdict through a different door. That box lands at class 300 on density alone while the tiles sit at 55, and a class 300 rate per hundredweight is a different animal from a class 55 rate. Light and bulky is expensive in both networks; only the arithmetic differs.
What happens when the class on the bill of lading is wrong
Nobody reads this part of the tool's output. FedEx Freight sets out the consequence in a single sentence on the same page, read 2026-07-29: “If you don't include your LTL freight class, or don't use the right class, it's usually caught when your shipment is inspected. Then your class and shipping rates are adjusted accordingly.”
An inspection is routine, not an accusation. Freight passing through a service center gets weighed and measured as a matter of course, and a difference between the bill of lading and the dock goes back onto the invoice weeks after delivery, when the shipment is long gone and the customer has already been charged. The defense is boring and effective: measure the pallet built, weigh it built, count the handling units honestly, and keep the photograph. Our page on reading a freight quote covers where a re-rate shows up on the paperwork.
When the class question does not apply at all
Freight class exists for shipments moving on an LTL bill of lading. A single carton that a parcel network will accept never needs one, and the alternator row above is the cheap illustration: 45 lb of dense metal moved from New Jersey to Chicago for $43.09 without anybody classifying anything. The crossover sits where weight, size or piece count stops a parcel carrier from taking the shipment, and LTL against parcel walks through where that line falls.
Parcel-sized boxes are priced instantly in our calculator. Pallets and LTL are not: give freight review the dimensions, the weight and the two ZIP codes, and a person comes back with the lane priced, class included.
Where these statements come from
- FedEx Freight, calculating your freight class — the NMFC definition, the four transportation characteristics, the 50 to 500 range, and the inspection and adjustment sentence. Read 2026-07-29.
- FedEx, former class calculator page — the notice that FedEx Freight became an independent LTL company on June 1st and the pointer to the new page. Read 2026-07-29.
- FedEx Freight, separation details — the June 1, 2026 independence date, the new login requirement and the move of LTL shipping to fedexfreight.com. Read 2026-07-29.
- UPS, shipping dimensions and weight — the dimensional weight formula and the 139 and 166 divisors. Read 2026-07-29.
Classifications and the rates attached to them are revised at intervals of the carriers' choosing, and the tariff itself is republished from time to time. The class numbers above are arithmetic on the dimensions shown, nothing more; confirm the commodity's own item number with the carrier before a large shipment moves.
Common questions
Where is the FedEx freight class calculator now?
On fedexfreight.com, under rate and ship. FedEx Freight became an independent company on June 1, 2026, and the old class calculator address on fedex.com now carries a line saying the new calculating your freight class page has the information you need.
What does the calculator actually compute?
Density. It takes length, width, height and the weight including packaging, divides weight by cubic feet, and returns an estimated class somewhere on the 50 to 500 ladder.
Is the class it returns the class I get billed at?
Not always. FedEx Freight writes that a missing or wrong class is usually caught when the shipment is inspected, and that the class and shipping rates are then adjusted accordingly.
Does a different carrier give a different class?
No. The ladder belongs to the National Motor Freight Classification, a tariff of rules, descriptions and ratings that participating carriers work from, so the class of a commodity does not change when the truck does. What changes is the rate attached to it.
Do I need a freight class for a 45 lb box?
No. A class belongs on a bill of lading for palletized freight. A single carton that a parcel network will accept is priced on weight, size and distance instead, and on 2026-07-29 the 45 lb carton on this page came back at $43.09 from New Jersey to Chicago.