What is freight class 250?

Freight class 250 is the NMFC rating for freight with a density of 2 - 4 pounds per cubic foot under the current density scale (Docket 2025-1, effective July 2025). Typical examples: mattresses, molded plastic parts, light fixtures.

What density is class 250?

Class 250 covers 2 - 4 lb per cubic foot. Bands are inclusive at the lower edge and exclusive at the upper edge.

Is class 250 expensive to ship?

Lower classes are cheaper per pound. Class 250 is position 11 of 13 on the current scale, so it prices toward the expensive, light end of LTL freight.

Freight Class 250: Density Range, Typical Freight & Cost Position

What ships at class 250

Class 250 covers 2 - 4 pcf. Mattresses, molded plastic parts and light fixtures live here. At this density you are essentially buying trailer space, so anything that compresses, nests or disassembles is worth compressing, nesting or disassembling before it ships.

Worked example. A standard pallet: 48 × 40 × 48 in, 160 lb. That is 53.3 cu ft and 160 lb → 3.00 pcf → class 250. Open this example in the calculator →

Where the edges are. On that same 48 × 40 × 48 in pallet (53.3 cu ft), class 250 covers every weight from 107 lb up to 213 lb; at 214 lb it rates class 175 and at 106 lb it rates class 300. Enter your own shipment in the calculator and it tells you how far you are from either edge.

Band edges are inclusive at the bottom, exclusive at the top: exactly 2 pcf is class 250, but just below it the class gets more expensive — 1.99 pcf rates class 300. A few pounds of packaging or an inch of pallet height can move a borderline shipment across that line.

Commodities that commonly rate class 250

Freight quoted in this band, with the density logic and a worked example for each: mattresses · plastic.

Where class 250 sits on the scale

Freight class runs from 50 (densest, cheapest per pound) to 400 on the current density scale. Class 250 is band 11 of 13.

Either side of this band: denser freight (4 - 6 pcf) rates class 175, which is cheaper; lighter freight (1 - 2 pcf) rates class 300, which costs more.

The full table is on the freight class chart, and the calculator works out density and class from your dimensions, including multi-pallet shipments.

Density is the default, not the whole rule. Since Docket 2025-1 most commodities class by density, but items with unusual stowability, handling or liability characteristics can class differently. Confirm the NMFC item before the BOL goes out.