Freight Class for Paint
Paint and coatings ship at about freight class 70 to 100 — liquid in cans and pails is moderately dense.
What is the freight class for paint?
Filled paint cans and pails carry real weight, keeping the class moderate. Empty cans, aerosols and lighter retail packaging rate higher. Some paints and solvents are regulated, which can add hazmat handling.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for paint — class 70–100 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
Heavier than water, in dense little cans
Paint ships heavy. A gallon of architectural paint weighs around 11–12 pounds — more than a gallon of water — because it's loaded with pigment, resin and mineral fillers. Packed into cans and pails and cased on a pallet, that weight keeps paint at the dense-liquid end of its range, class 70. It's closer to shipping bottled beverages than shipping the bulky coatings you might expect: the product is dense, and a full pallet of filled cans is genuinely heavy freight.
The class rises only when the container-to-paint ratio worsens. Aerosol spray paint is mostly can, propellant and air with a little coating inside, so it rates class 100 despite the paint being dense. Empty cans (shipped to fillers) are the extreme — nearly all air, rating like corrugated. And oil-based paints, solvents and aerosols are frequently regulated flammables, which adds hazmat handling on top of the density class the same way it does for chemicals.
Paint freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical paint shipments measure out:
Cased paint cans, palletized — class 70
Cases of gallon paint cans on a 48" × 40" pallet, 44" high, 900 lb.
48 × 40 × 44 = 84,480 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 48.9 ft³. Density = 900 lb ÷ 48.9 ft³.
18.4 lb/ft³ → class 70 — filled paint is dense, beverage-like freight.
Five-gallon pails — class 70
Filled 5-gallon paint pails on a 48" × 40" pallet, 48" high, 800 lb.
48 × 40 × 48 = 92,160 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 53.3 ft³. Density = 800 lb ÷ 53.3 ft³.
15.0 lb/ft³ → class 70.
Aerosol spray paint — class 100
Cased aerosol cans on a 48" × 40" pallet, 50" high, 550 lb.
48 × 40 × 50 = 96,000 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 55.6 ft³. Density = 550 lb ÷ 55.6 ft³.
9.9 lb/ft³ → class 100 — mostly can and propellant, and usually a regulated flammable.
Full pallets, and the flammable question
Filled paint is dense enough that the job is simply tight, full, weight-rated pallets — cased cans and pails stack into solid units that measure close to their real weight, and you'll hit the pallet's weight limit before running out of height. Don't blend empty containers or aerosols onto a filled-can pallet, where their air drags the dense product's class up.
The regulatory piece matters for the flammable end. Water-based latex paint is generally unregulated, but oil-based paints, many solvents and all aerosols are commonly classed as flammable dangerous goods — check the product's safety data sheet and follow your carrier's hazmat rules for those. We don't assign flammability classes here; that comes from the SDS. Run the filled-can pallet through the calculator for the density class, and treat any flammable handling as a separate requirement.
What affects paint freight class
- Filled vs. empty containers
- Pail/drum vs. retail cans
- Hazmat/flammable classification
- Palletization
Common paint shipments include architectural paint, industrial coatings, primers and sealers, aerosol paint.
Class guides covering the 70–100 range:
Calculate the freight class for your paint
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 paint?
Paint 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 paint?
The main factors are filled vs. empty containers, pail/drum vs. retail cans, hazmat/flammable classification, palletization. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for paint?
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 paint?
Filled paint cans and pails measure ~15–18 lb/ft³ → class 70, the dense end — paint is heavier than water. Aerosol spray paint rates class 100 (mostly can and air), and empty containers rate higher still. Oil-based paints and aerosols are often regulated flammables.
Why is paint a fairly cheap freight class?
Because it's dense — a gallon of paint weighs more than a gallon of water thanks to pigment and fillers, so cased filled cans ship heavy and rate class 70, similar to bottled beverages. The class only climbs for aerosols and empty containers, which are mostly air.
Is paint a hazmat shipment?
Water-based latex usually isn't, but oil-based paints, solvents and all aerosols are commonly classed as flammable dangerous goods. Check the product's safety data sheet and follow your carrier's hazmat packaging and labeling rules — that's separate from and on top of the density class.