Freight Class for Frozen Food
Frozen food ships at roughly freight class 60 to 92.5, set by density and frozen (reefer) handling.
What is the freight class for frozen food?
Dense frozen items in full cases rate lower; lighter, bulky packaged meals rate higher. As with all reefer freight, temperature control is the bigger cost factor than class. Full pallets keep density up.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for frozen food — class 60–92.5 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
Frozen handling first, class second
Frozen food shares dairy's reality: the deep-freeze handling dominates the shipping decision, and the freight class is the smaller variable. Maintaining sub-zero temperature end to end, blast-frozen loading, and no-break-in-the-chain routing set the cost and the carrier choice long before density does. That said, class still varies enough across frozen products to be worth getting right, because frozen freight spans genuinely dense proteins to surprisingly light aerated goods.
The spread runs three ways. Frozen proteins and frozen vegetables in cases are dense — solid food, tightly packed, rating at the low end near class 60–65. Boxed frozen meals are bulkier, with trays and sleeves and portioned air, rating up toward class 85. And ice cream is the counterintuitive one: it's whipped with air during freezing (the industry calls it overrun), so a carton of premium ice cream is denser than economy, and both are lighter than the solid protein sharing the freezer.
Frozen Food freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical frozen food shipments measure out:
Cased frozen proteins — class 65
Cases of frozen protein on a 48" × 40" pallet, 40" high, 1,300 lb.
48 × 40 × 40 = 76,800 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 44.4 ft³. Density = 1,300 lb ÷ 44.4 ft³.
29.3 lb/ft³ → class 65 — solid frozen food is dense freight.
Boxed frozen meals — class 85
Frozen dinners in cases stacked 48" high on a 48" × 40" pallet, 700 lb.
48 × 40 × 48 = 92,160 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 53.3 ft³. Density = 700 lb ÷ 53.3 ft³.
13.1 lb/ft³ → class 85 — tray-and-sleeve air lifts boxed meals up the range.
Cased ice cream — class 77.5
Cased ice cream tubs on a 48" × 40" pallet, 46" high, 750 lb.
48 × 40 × 46 = 88,320 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 51.1 ft³. Density = 750 lb ÷ 51.1 ft³.
14.7 lb/ft³ → class 77.5 — overrun (whipped-in air) makes ice cream lighter than solid frozen food.
Dense cases, and the overrun surprise
For proteins and vegetables the loading is the usual dense-freight job: full weight-rated pallets, tight cases, and stacking a frozen bottom layer can bear. Frozen cases are rigid and stack well, so building a solid square pallet is straightforward — the discipline is all in the cold chain around it.
Boxed meals and novelty items are where density leaks. Frozen dinners ship in trays inside sleeves inside cases, and every layer adds air; consolidating tight and skipping oversized master cartons keeps them near the middle of the range rather than the top. Ice cream's overrun means the class can genuinely differ between a super-premium (dense, low overrun) and an economy tub (high overrun, lighter) of the same volume — one of the few cases where the product's formulation, not its packaging, moves the freight class.
What affects frozen food freight class
- Item density
- Reefer/frozen handling
- Case packing
- Palletization
Common frozen food shipments include frozen meals, frozen vegetables, ice cream, frozen proteins.
Class guides covering the 60–92.5 range:
Calculate the freight class for your frozen food
Enter dimensions and weight to get the density-based class for your exact shipment.
Density-based estimate. Some commodities carry a fixed NMFC class — check our freight class by commodity pages.
Estimated Freight Class
Density
32.49
lb/ft³
Volume
53.33
ft³
Weight
1,733
lb
30–35 lb/ft³ → Class 60
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Estimates only — verify freight class/NMFC and chargeable weight with your carrier.
How freight class is calculated (density scale)
Freight class is set by density = weight (lb) ÷ volume (ft³). Higher density → lower class → typically lower cost. Volume here is L × W × H × quantity.
| Density (lb/ft³) | Class |
|---|---|
| 50+ | 50 |
| 35 – 50 | 55 |
| 30 – 35 | 60 |
| 22.5 – 30 | 65 |
| 15 – 22.5 | 70 |
| 13.5 – 15 | 77.5 |
| 12 – 13.5 | 85 |
| 10.5 – 12 | 92.5 |
| 9 – 10.5 | 100 |
| 8 – 9 | 110 |
| 7 – 8 | 125 |
| 6 – 7 | 150 |
| 5 – 6 | 175 |
| 4 – 5 | 200 |
| 3 – 4 | 250 |
| 2 – 3 | 300 |
| 1 – 2 | 400 |
| 0 – 1 | 500 |
Frequently asked questions
What freight class is frozen food?
Frozen Food typically ships at freight class 60–92.5. The exact class is set by density — weight divided by volume — so packaging and dimensions can move it within that range.
What affects the freight class of frozen food?
The main factors are item density, reefer/frozen handling, case packing, palletization. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for frozen food?
Measure your shipment and divide weight by volume to get density, then match it to the NMFC scale — the calculator above does this. Confirm the final class and NMFC item number with your carrier before booking.
What freight class is frozen food?
Cased frozen proteins and vegetables measure ~25–30 lb/ft³ → class 60–65; boxed frozen meals rate 85–92.5; ice cream sits between at 77.5–92.5 depending on overrun. All of it needs deep-freeze handling, which is the bigger cost than class.
Why does frozen shipping cost so much if the class is moderate?
Because the cold chain, not the class, drives it: end-to-end sub-zero temperature, specialized frozen capacity and no-break routing set the price. A moderate freight class is a small line next to the deep-freeze handling premium.
Does ice cream have a different freight class than other frozen food?
Often, yes. Ice cream is whipped with air (overrun) during freezing, so it's lighter than solid frozen protein — and premium low-overrun ice cream is denser than economy. It's a rare case where the product's formulation moves the class.