What is freight class 85?

Freight class 85 is the NMFC rating for freight with a density of 12 - 15 pounds per cubic foot under the current density scale (Docket 2025-1, effective July 2025). Typical examples: crated machinery, boxed hardware.

What density is class 85?

Class 85 covers 12 - 15 lb per cubic foot. Bands are inclusive at the lower edge and exclusive at the upper edge.

Is class 85 expensive to ship?

Lower classes are cheaper per pound. Class 85 is position 6 of 13 on the current scale, so it prices mid-scale of LTL freight.

Freight Class 85: Density Range, Typical Freight & Cost Position

What ships at class 85

Class 85 spans 12 - 15 pcf, typical of crated machinery and boxed hardware. Note the boundary behaviour: 12.00 pcf is class 85, while 15.00 pcf is class 70, not 85 - bands are inclusive at the bottom, exclusive at the top. Freight around 13.5 pcf rates class 77.5 on the obsolete density guideline some free calculators still run; no band of the current scale produces that number.

Worked example. A standard pallet: 48 × 40 × 48 in, 700 lb. That is 53.3 cu ft and 700 lb → 13.12 pcf → class 85. Open this example in the calculator →

Where the edges are. On that same 48 × 40 × 48 in pallet (53.3 cu ft), class 85 covers every weight from 640 lb up to 799 lb; at 800 lb it rates class 70 and at 639 lb it rates class 92.5. 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 12 pcf is class 85, but just below it the class gets more expensive — 11.99 pcf rates class 92.5. A few pounds of packaging or an inch of pallet height can move a borderline shipment across that line.

Commodities that commonly rate class 85

Freight quoted in this band, with the density logic and a worked example for each: aluminum · auto parts · computers · engines · generators · glass · machinery · tools · transmissions.

Freight in this band is also where an out-of-date calculator hands you class 77.5. That number is not on the current density scale, so seeing one back from a density calculation means the tool is reading an older guideline.

Where class 85 sits on the scale

Freight class runs from 50 (densest, cheapest per pound) to 400 on the current density scale. Class 85 is band 6 of 13.

Either side of this band: denser freight (15 - 22.5 pcf) rates class 70, which is cheaper; lighter freight (10 - 12 pcf) rates class 92.5, 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.