Commodity guide · steel
Steel bar, plate and coil typically rate class 50 (50+ pcf); fabricated and formed steel products rate class 60 - 70.
Raw steel is the anchor of the cheap end of the scale: bar stock, plate and banded coil easily exceed 50 pcf and rate class 50 - a class that only exists on the density scale since July 2025. Fabricated items with air in the shape (frames, brackets, formed parts) land at 30 - 50 pcf, class 55 - 60.
Worked example. A low skid of steel plate: 48 × 40 × 12 in, 1900 lb. That is 13.3 cu ft and 1900 lb → 142.50 pcf → class 50. Run your own numbers →
Weight, not class, is usually the constraint here: LTL carriers have per-position floor-load limits, and a dense steel skid can hit them before it hits any classification issue. Distribute weight across the deck and declare it exactly.
Related: the full class chart · density calculator · how NMFC codes work.