Freight Class for Groceries
Mixed groceries ship at roughly freight class 70 to 100, depending on the blend of dense and light packaged goods.
What is the freight class for groceries?
Canned and bottled items pull the average down; cereal, snacks and paper goods pull it up. A full, mixed grocery pallet usually lands in the middle. Cased and shrink-wrapped loads rate lower than loose cartons.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for groceries — class 70–100 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
The class you can't look up — because it's a blend
"Groceries" isn't really a commodity with a class; it's a mix whose class is whatever the blend works out to. A mixed grocery pallet combines dense anchors (cans, jars, bottled goods) with light bulk (cereal, snacks, paper towels), and the measured density lands wherever the ratio puts it — usually class 70 to 100. That's why a grocery distributor can't quote a standing rate the way a can-only shipper can: every pallet's class depends on what happened to be picked onto it.
This makes groceries the one food commodity where the loading pattern, not the product, is the entire story. The same cases can build a class-70 pallet or a class-100 pallet depending on how the dense and light items are distributed across units. Understanding that is worth more than any single-product density fact, because grocery freight is almost always mixed.
Groceries freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical groceries shipments measure out:
Balanced mixed grocery pallet — class 92.5
A typical mix of canned, dry and paper goods, 48" × 40" × 50", 620 lb.
48 × 40 × 50 = 96,000 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 55.6 ft³. Density = 620 lb ÷ 55.6 ft³.
11.2 lb/ft³ → class 92.5 — the middle where blended groceries usually land.
Dense-heavy grocery pallet — class 70
A can-and-bottle-dominant pallet, 48" × 40" × 46", 900 lb.
48 × 40 × 46 = 88,320 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 51.1 ft³. Density = 900 lb ÷ 51.1 ft³.
17.6 lb/ft³ → class 70 — sorting dense items together holds the cheap class.
Light-heavy grocery pallet — class 110
A paper-goods-and-cereal-dominant pallet, 48" × 40" × 55", 480 lb.
48 × 40 × 55 = 105,600 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 61.1 ft³. Density = 480 lb ÷ 61.1 ft³.
7.9 lb/ft³ → class 110 — a light-leaning mix drifts above the grocery range.
Build pallets by density, not by order
The instinct is to build grocery pallets by order or by aisle; the cheaper instinct is to build them by density. Concentrating dense cases (cans, bottles, jars) onto their own low, heavy pallets keeps them at their natural cheap class, while the light bulk (paper goods, cereal, snacks) rides its own unit and takes its own — worse, but honest — class. Blending them averages the dense freight up toward the light freight's class, so the cans quietly subsidize the paper towels on every mixed pallet.
Where mixing is unavoidable, use the dense items deliberately: a base of canned goods under lighter cartons raises the whole unit's density and can pull a light-leaning pallet down a class. Full, shrink-wrapped, square pallets matter as always — but for groceries the higher-order lever is the sort itself. Run the actual mix through the calculator; the blended density is rarely where intuition puts it.
What affects groceries freight class
- Mix of dense vs. light items
- Case packing and palletization
- Refrigerated vs. ambient
- Net weight per case
Common groceries shipments include canned and jarred goods, dry packaged foods, paper goods, mixed grocery pallets.
Class guides covering the 70–100 range:
Calculate the freight class for your groceries
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
18.75
lb/ft³
Volume
53.33
ft³
Weight
1,000
lb
15–22.5 lb/ft³ → Class 70
Free PDF includes a watermark. Pro removes it & adds your brand.
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 groceries?
Groceries typically ships at freight class 70–100. 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 groceries?
The main factors are mix of dense vs. light items, case packing and palletization, refrigerated vs. ambient, net weight per case. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for groceries?
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 are groceries?
Mixed grocery pallets typically measure 8–18 lb/ft³ → class 70–100, depending on the ratio of dense items (cans, bottles) to light ones (cereal, paper goods). There's no single grocery class — it's whatever the blend works out to.
How do I get the best freight class on mixed groceries?
Sort by density: keep dense cases (cans, jars, bottles) on their own low, heavy pallets at their cheap class, and let light bulk take its own unit. Blending averages the dense freight upward, so the cans end up subsidizing the paper towels.
Why does my grocery pallet's class change shipment to shipment?
Because the class follows the blend, and the blend changes with every pick. A can-heavy pallet rates near class 70; a paper-and-cereal-heavy one rates 100+. Run each actual pallet's density rather than assuming a standing grocery rate.