Mastering NMFC Codes: Essential Insights for Smarter Freight Shipping

Keeping track of your freight classification is a critical part of the shipping process. If you're using the wrong classification codes, you may not have the most accurate rate for your less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments. At Old Dominion Freight Line (OD), we urge shippers to make sure you use the accurate freight class and understand the classification system by going to www.nmfta.org for a complete overview of their procedures.

What is the NMFTA?

The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) regulates the freight classification of individual products, or commodities. The NMFTA’s Freight Classification Development Council (FCDC), develops and manages these rules that help all LTL carriers and shippers manage these varying products, through a system called the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC). The council typically updates the NMFC three times throughout the year. Shippers should always understand why the NMFC changes occur and how to stay on top of the latest classifications.

What are NMFC Codes?

A NMFC code, or number, is applied to a very specific set of items to help keep track of them based on their properties - there are four factors used to determine an item's NMFC number:

• Handling - the ease at which an item (or group of items) can be moved into and out of a truck. The less heavy, or less fragile, the item is, the less expensive it is to move it. This includes any special care or attention necessary to safely and efficiently handle the good.

• Stowability - how well an item travels with other items. If an item is non-hazardous, is not heavily regulated by the government or does not come packed in an odd shape, then it is easier to move other items with it and therefore less expensive to ship.

• Liability - how likely a shipment is to break in its packaging, break other items it might come into contact with, or expire during delivery, as measured by the commodity’s value per pound, liability to damage, perishability, propensity to damage other freight with which it is transported, and propensity to spontaneous combustion or explosion.

• Density - an item's weight per cubic foot. In general, the denser a shipment is, the cheaper it is to ship because it takes up less cube on the trailer.

The NMFTA recently announced that in spring 2025, they will start a comprehensive overhaul of the NMFC system. These changes aim to make the class system easier to use and understand by transitioning most items to a standardized density scale.  

An item will have both a very specific NMFC code and a broader freight class to assist both LTL carriers and shippers about what to expect when transporting the goods. You can learn more about how the FCDC makes its classification decisions in its operating procedures resource.