What is freight class 55?

Freight class 55 is the NMFC rating for freight with a density of 35 - 50 pounds per cubic foot under the current density scale (Docket 2025-1, effective July 2025). Typical examples: tile, bagged cement, canned goods.

What density is class 55?

Class 55 covers 35 - 50 lb per cubic foot. Bands are inclusive at the lower edge and exclusive at the upper edge.

Is class 55 expensive to ship?

Lower classes are cheaper per pound. Class 55 is position 2 of 13 on the current scale, so it prices toward the cheap, dense end of LTL freight.

Freight Class 55: Density Range, Typical Freight & Cost Position

What ships at class 55

Class 55 is the other class Docket 2025-1 added, as sub 12, covering 35 to 50 pcf. Under the previous 11-sub scale that freight fell into sub 11 and rated class 60; it now rates one step cheaper. Typical candidates are ceramic tile, bagged cement and mortars, canned food on tight pallets, and boxed paper.

Worked example. A standard pallet: 48 × 40 × 30 in, 1400 lb. That is 33.3 cu ft and 1400 lb → 42.00 pcf → class 55. Open this example in the calculator →

Where the edges are. On that same 48 × 40 × 30 in pallet (33.3 cu ft), class 55 covers every weight from 1,167 lb up to 1,666 lb; at 1,667 lb it rates class 50 and at 1,166 lb it rates class 60. 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 35 pcf is class 55, but just below it the class gets more expensive — 34.99 pcf rates class 60. A few pounds of packaging or an inch of pallet height can move a borderline shipment across that line.

Commodities that commonly rate class 55

Freight quoted in this band, with the density logic and a worked example for each: books · food · lumber · paper · printed material.

Where class 55 sits on the scale

Freight class runs from 50 (densest, cheapest per pound) to 400 on the current density scale. Class 55 is band 2 of 13.

Either side of this band: denser freight (50 pcf or greater) rates class 50, which is cheaper; lighter freight (30 - 35 pcf) rates class 60, 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.