30 - 35 pcf · NMFC density scale
The rating for freight at 30 - 35 pounds per cubic foot on the current 13-band NMFC density scale. Typically books, hardwood flooring, lead-acid batteries.
Under the previous 11-sub scale, class 60 was the best rating density alone could earn: sub 11 applied to anything 30 pcf or greater. Docket 2025-1 narrowed sub 11 to 30 - 35 pcf and put two cheaper classes below it, so dense freight that has been quoted at 60 for years is worth re-measuring. At 30 - 35 pcf you are still in solidly cheap territory: think full pallets of books, flooring, or lead-acid batteries.
Worked example. A standard pallet: 48 × 40 × 36 in, 1290 lb. That is 40.0 cu ft and 1290 lb → 32.25 pcf → class 60. Run your own numbers →
Band edges are inclusive at the bottom, exclusive at the top: exactly 30 pcf is class 60, but just below it the class gets more expensive — 29.99 pcf rates class 65. A few pounds of packaging or an inch of pallet height can move a borderline shipment across that line.
Freight class runs from 50 (densest, cheapest per pound) to 400 on the current density scale. Class 60 is band 3 of 13.
Either side of this band: denser freight (35 - 50 pcf) rates class 55, which is cheaper; lighter freight (22.5 - 30 pcf) rates class 65, 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.