Freight Class for Paper & Paper Products
Paper products are dense when palletized, typically rating freight class 60 to 85.
What is the freight class for paper?
Reams, rolls and stacked paper carry real weight for their size, keeping the class moderate to low. Lighter converted products — tissue, towels, or loose packaging paper — rate higher because of their air content.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for paper — class 60–85 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
Solid paper is dense; converted paper is air
Paper splits sharply by whether it's been converted into a fluffy product. Flat paper — copy paper, printing stock, cover — is compressed sheets that stack into genuinely dense, heavy pallets rating class 60–65, near the cheap end; a pallet of copy-paper cases is deceptively heavy. Converted tissue products — bath tissue, paper towels, napkins — are the opposite: engineered to be soft and absorbent, which means engineered to be mostly air, rating class 100 and up. The same raw material, opposite freight.
Paper rolls (for printing, packaging, or converting) are dense like flat stock — solid wound cylinders that carry real weight — but their size and the need to protect the roll faces and cores add handling considerations. Across the category, a small factor to remember is moisture: paper is hygroscopic, and stock that's absorbed humidity weighs measurably more than bone-dry stock, nudging the density up.
Paper & Paper Products freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical paper shipments measure out:
Cased copy paper, palletized — class 65
Cases of copy paper on a 48" × 40" pallet, 44" high, 1,200 lb.
48 × 40 × 44 = 84,480 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 48.9 ft³. Density = 1,200 lb ÷ 48.9 ft³.
24.5 lb/ft³ → class 65 — flat paper is deceptively dense freight.
Paper rolls on a pallet — class 65
Wound paper rolls secured on a pallet, 48" × 40" × 48", 1,400 lb.
48 × 40 × 48 = 92,160 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 53.3 ft³. Density = 1,400 lb ÷ 53.3 ft³.
26.3 lb/ft³ → class 65 — solid rolls rate with the dense end.
Converted tissue products — class 200
Cases of bath tissue and towels stacked 70" high on a 48" × 40" pallet, 350 lb.
48 × 40 × 70 = 134,400 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 77.8 ft³. Density = 350 lb ÷ 77.8 ft³.
4.5 lb/ft³ → class 200 — converted tissue is mostly air, far above the paper range.
Palletize dense stock, keep tissue separate
Flat paper and rolls need only tight, weight-rated palletizing — they're dense, so the job is not squandering it with loose or uneven loading. Cased copy paper stacks into solid, square pallets that measure close to what the paper is; watch the weight limit before the height, since paper pallets get heavy fast.
Converted tissue is where the class leaks, and the rules are the bulky-freight ones: don't ship half-empty master cartons, palletize full and square, and above all keep tissue off the dense flat-paper pallets — a few cases of paper towels on a copy-paper pallet drag the whole unit's density down and can cost a class. When an order mixes dense stock and converted tissue, ship them as separate units and let each take its honest class. The calculator below shows which side of a line any configuration lands on.
What affects paper freight class
- Solid stacks/rolls vs. converted tissue
- Palletization
- Roll vs. sheet
- Moisture/weight
Common paper shipments include copy and printing paper, paper rolls, packaging paper, stationery.
Class guides covering the 60–85 range:
Calculate the freight class for your paper
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
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 paper?
Paper & Paper Products typically ships at freight class 60–85. 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 paper?
The main factors are solid stacks/rolls vs. converted tissue, palletization, roll vs. sheet, moisture/weight. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for paper?
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 paper?
Flat paper (copy, printing) and solid rolls measure 24–27 lb/ft³ → class 60–65, near the cheap end. Converted tissue products (bath tissue, paper towels) are light at ~4–5 lb/ft³ → class 175–200. The form, not the material, sets the class.
Why is copy paper a cheap freight class but paper towels aren't?
Copy paper is compressed flat sheets that stack dense; paper towels are engineered to be soft and absorbent — mostly air. Same raw material, opposite density, so copy paper rates class 65 and tissue rates class 175–200.
Should I ship paper and tissue products together?
Not on the same pallet. Dense flat paper holds class 60–65, but blending light tissue in drags the unit's density down and raises the blended class. Ship converted tissue separately so the dense stock keeps its cheaper rate.