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Freight class 500What freight class 500 means.
Class 500 is not one of the thirteen density subprovisions. It comes from the NMFC item covering the commodity, so a chart that gives it a single density range is showing you something the scale does not produce.
Where it comes from instead
The top of the scale, and usually for freight that is fragile, valuable or awkward to handle rather than merely light.
Thirteen of the eighteen classes come out of the standard density scale. Class 500 is one of the five that do not, which does not mean density is irrelevant to it - an item can carry its own set of breaks, three rather than thirteen, and land here through one of them. Others name the class outright whatever the freight weighs, and some classify on length as well as density.
Which of those applies is a property of your item number, not of the class. That is why a density calculator cannot get you here on its own.
How to find what applies to you
Start with a previous bill of lading or your carrier’s rating tool, since the item number should be on one of them if you have shipped the commodity before. Bear in mind that Docket 2025-1 took effect in July 2025 and moved a great deal of freight onto the density scale, so a fixed class that was right before then may not be now.
How to find your NMFC item number · What changed in Docket 2025-1
Not sure the class you ship on is still right?
Send us up to 10 of the NMFC item numbers you use. We will tell you which are current, which moved in July 2025, and which look wrong for what you actually ship.