NMFTA's own lookup
NMFTA points shippers to ClassIT+, its tool for finding the correct NMFC item number, and the guidance is blunt about inputs: use accurate weight and dimensions, never estimates.
FedEx Freight LTL
How a FedEx Freight LTL shipment gets booked, in order
FedEx Freight split off as its own company on June 1, 2026, and the booking flow moved with it: every page cited on this walkthrough runs on fedexfreight.com, not fedex.com. Six things have to happen between a pallet in a warehouse and a truck at the dock, and skipping the order is where most first-timers lose a day. Everything below is read from the carrier's own pages and from NMFTA on 2026-08-31, with the URL and the date next to each fact.
Read 2026-08-31Sourced to fedexfreight.comNMFC sourced to nmfta.org
Class, price, book, paper, pallet, truck
Do them out of order and the carrier's own inspection process puts them back in order for you, on the invoice.
The order, before the detail
- Confirm the freight class. Density, handling, stowability and liability decide the NMFC number, and the number decides the rate.
- Get a real quote. Length, width, height, weight, class and service tier go in; the carrier calls the result an estimate, in writing.
- Book the shipment. Booking now runs on a separate portal, LTL Select, reached from the Ship Now button.
- Turn it into a bill of lading. Create it online, and print it anyway for international, hazmat, or shipper load and count freight.
- Build and label the pallet. A standard four-way deck, a weight ceiling per pallet, and labels on every side.
- Schedule the pickup. A 3 p.m. local cutoff for booking online, and a 90-minute window either side of the ready time.
Step one: confirm the class before you price anything
NMFTA, the organization that publishes and maintains the National Motor Freight Classification, describes it as “the common language of shipping—how carriers and shippers agree on the effort it takes to move a load” (nmfta.org/nmfc, read 2026-08-31). Every commodity sits somewhere on a scale from class 50 to class 500, set by density, handling, stowability and liability, and the class is what a quote is actually priced against.
FedEx Freight's shortcut
The carrier's own class calculator, now hosted at fedexfreight.com, takes length, width, height and weight and does the density arithmetic for you. It is an estimate of one of the four characteristics, not a ruling on all four.
A commodity can outrank the math
Plenty of goods already carry their own NMFC item number, and that number governs regardless of what the density works out to. A calculator has no way of knowing which commodities do.
This site has already worked through that calculator in detail, with three shipments run against both the class ladder and a parcel quote on the same lane: the FedEx class calculator, after the split. The general mechanics of the classification system, without any one carrier's tool, are in our own freight class calculator and the class chart.
Step two: get a number before you book
FedEx Freight's services page says rates are “calculated based on dimensions and weight (including packaging), freight classification, and shipping service” plus origin, destination and any accessorials attached to the move (fedexfreight.com/en-us/services, read 2026-08-31). The same page routes a shipper who wants to see several carriers' numbers at once through LTL Select rather than pricing FedEx Freight alone.
| What the quote needs | What the carrier states about it |
|---|---|
| Length, width, height, weight | Feeds the class calculator directly; the page's own line is “Just enter your shipment length, width, height, and weight. Our FedEx Freight Class Calculator tool does the rest.” |
| Service tier | FedEx Freight Priority is described as 1 to 3 day delivery; FedEx Freight Economy as 3 to 6 day delivery |
| Destination detail | Dock availability at the far end is named as a factor that changes the final cost, separate from the base rate |
| How firm the number is | “FedEx Freight rate quotes are estimations. Be as accurate as possible when creating your shipping label or Bill of Lading.” |
The tariff behind that estimate, including the absolute minimum charge and the accessorial list most first-time shippers meet, is its own page rather than a repeat here: FedEx Freight rates. If the shipment might actually fit a parcel network instead of a pallet, our calculator will say so directly rather than making you guess.
Step three: book it, on a different domain than you might expect
The Ship Now button on fedexfreight.com leads to a separate address, fedexfreight.ltlselect.com/book, and that split is a direct result of FedEx Freight becoming an independent company. The general services page tells a new shipper to open an account to get started. The pickup-scheduling page, by contrast, states plainly that an account is recommended but not required, and that the only person who has to be present is someone authorized to sign the bill of lading when the driver arrives (both fedexfreight.com, read 2026-08-31). Read literally, the two pages describe different bars for different tasks rather than contradicting each other: creating a full shipment record wants a login, requesting a pickup does not strictly need one.
Whichever door you use, the booking screen is also where service options attach to the move, so the freight class and the service tier chosen in step two should already be in hand before this screen opens rather than guessed at inside it.
Step four: turn the booking into a bill of lading
FedEx Freight's forms page frames the document plainly: a bill of lading is required for every domestic and international LTL shipment, and it can be created online at the same address used to book, or filled out by hand. The carrier states it was the first nationwide LTL carrier not to require a handwritten bill of lading, which is why the online path is the default now rather than an option buried behind the paper form.
One line on that page matters more than the rest: “You must provide a paper copy of your BOL to your FedEx Freight driver on pickup if you're sending international, hazmat, or shipper load and count shipments, even if you created the shipment online.” Standard domestic LTL does not carry that requirement, but the three categories that do are common enough that it is worth checking before the truck shows up rather than after.
What the document has to say once it is filled in, why your own printed terms usually do not bind the carrier, and what a correction costs after the fact is a separate page rather than a repeat here: FedEx bill of lading, what the tariff actually says. The federal minimum contents that apply to any carrier's bill of lading, not just FedEx Freight's, are in our bill of lading reference.
Step five: build and label the pallet the carrier's guide describes
FedEx Freight's packing guide states most LTL freight ships on pallets, and it is specific about the deck, the stack and the label. All figures below come from that page, read 2026-08-31.
The deck
A standard wood pallet at 40 by 48 in with four-way forklift entry is the recommendation, chosen on strength, stiffness, durability, functionality and cost rather than on habit.
The weight ceiling
A single piece or pallet is capped at 4,000 lbs., and a full shipment tops out at 15,000 lbs. across the guide's own figures.
The stack
Column stacking, cartons directly above cartons with no overlap, or interlocking stacking, corner to corner, with load protector pads between tiers. Stretch wrap goes on tight, edge boards run the full length of the stack, and banding sits close to the load.
Labeling gets its own rule: consignee information and pro numbers belong on every side of the shipment, not just the side facing the aisle, positioned on the forklift-accessible faces so a driver can read them without turning the load. Arrows or a this-end-up mark hold the orientation, and any old label from a prior shipment has to be removed or crossed out so a scanner cannot read the wrong barcode first.
The build order behind those rules, plus the federal bill of lading contents that apply beyond FedEx Freight alone, is covered without repeating it here: how to ship a pallet a driver will actually take.
Step six: schedule the truck
The pickup-scheduling page, read 2026-08-31, states a pickup can be requested “as soon as the same business day, or up to 10 business days in advance.” Same-day has a hard stop: “Your Ready Time can't be later than 3 p.m. local time when you're booking online.” Past that hour the page directs a shipper to call FedEx Freight customer support directly to check whether a driver can still make it, rather than booking through the portal.
| Question | What the page states |
|---|---|
| Ready and close time | A minimum 90-minute window between the two is required |
| Information needed | Destination country and ZIP code, service type, total weight, number of handling units, package type, and an email for notifications |
| Special services | Liftgate and similar needs are flagged when scheduling, not discovered by the driver at the door |
| Cost of the pickup itself | No charge is added for a weekday pickup; liftgate or a limited-access address bring their own line, priced on the carrier's tariff |
| Who has to be there | An authorized person to sign the bill of lading; a full account is recommended but not required |
The accessorial charges named above, including what liftgate and residential delivery actually cost on the current tariff, are on the pricing page rather than repeated here: FedEx Freight rates. And if the load turns out to be small enough for a parcel network after all, nothing above applies to it: check the box against a parcel quote before booking a pallet pickup for it.
Where these facts come from
- FedEx Freight, services overview — account guidance, the rate calculation factors, the Ship Now booking link, and the bill of lading and packing guide pointers. Read 2026-08-31.
- FedEx Freight, calculating freight shipping costs — quote inputs, the Priority and Economy day ranges, and the estimate disclaimer. Read 2026-08-31.
- FedEx Freight, bills of lading — the online-versus-handwritten claim and the paper-copy requirement for international, hazmat and shipper load and count shipments. Read 2026-08-31.
- FedEx Freight, freight packaging guidelines — pallet standard, weight ceilings, stacking method and labeling rules. Read 2026-08-31.
- FedEx Freight, schedule a pickup — cutoff time, scheduling window, required information and who has to be present. Read 2026-08-31.
- NMFTA, National Motor Freight Classification — what the NMFC is, who publishes it, and the ClassIT+ lookup tool. Read 2026-08-31.
FedEx Freight republishes these pages and its tariff on its own schedule. Treat the figures above as what the carrier stated on the date shown, and check the live page before a shipment that has to be right the first time.
Common questions
Do I need a FedEx Freight account to book an LTL shipment?
The pages disagree slightly by task. The general services page tells a shipper to open an account to get started, while the pickup-scheduling page states an account is recommended but not required and that an authorized person only needs to be present to sign the bill of lading at pickup. Either way, booking now happens on fedexfreight.com rather than fedex.com.
How do I confirm the NMFC freight class before I book?
NMFTA, the organization that publishes the classification, points shippers to its ClassIT+ tool to look up the correct NMFC item number using accurate weight and dimensions rather than estimates. FedEx Freight's own class calculator does the density arithmetic for you from four measurements, and it only estimates the class a commodity-specific item number can still override.
Can I skip printing the bill of lading if I create it online?
Usually, but not always. FedEx Freight's own forms page states a paper copy is still required for the driver at pickup on international, hazmat, or shipper load and count shipments, even when the bill of lading was created online. Standard domestic LTL does not need a printed copy under that rule.
What are FedEx Freight's pallet and labeling requirements?
The carrier's packing guide recommends a standard 40 by 48 in four-way pallet, caps a single piece or pallet at 4,000 lbs. with a 15,000 lbs. ceiling per shipment, and calls for consignee information and pro numbers on every side of the load so it can be identified without turning it with a forklift.
How late can I schedule a same-day FedEx Freight pickup?
The pickup-scheduling page states the ready time cannot be later than 3 p.m. local time when booking online, with a minimum 90-minute window between ready and close. Past that cutoff, the page directs a shipper to call FedEx Freight customer support to check driver availability instead of booking online.