Freight Class for Plastics & Plastic Products
Plastic products span a wide range but most ship at freight class 70 to 100 depending on whether they're solid or hollow.
What is the freight class for plastics?
Resin pellets and solid plastic parts rate lower because they pack densely; hollow or molded items like bins and containers trap air and rate higher. Nesting hollow items together raises density and lowers the class.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for plastics — class 70–100 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
From dense resin to hollow bins — one material, a full range
Plastic spans more of the freight scale than almost any single material, because the same polymer ships as both the densest and the airiest cargo. Raw resin pellets and regrind flow like a liquid and pack a gaylord or bag tight, rating class 70 near the dense end. Finished molded goods — bins, totes, drums, containers — are built to hold volume, so they're mostly air and rate class 100 and up. Sheet and film sit in between. Knowing which form you're shipping is the whole game.
The defining lever for finished plastics is nesting. Bins, totes, buckets, cups and cones are designed to stack inside each other, and a nested column measures a fraction of the same items shipped assembled or un-nested. The difference between a truckload of nested totes and un-nested ones can be several classes — it's the clearest, cheapest density gain in the category and it costs nothing but a loading decision.
Plastics & Plastic Products freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical plastics shipments measure out:
Resin pellets in bags — class 70
Bagged resin on a 48" × 40" pallet, 40" high, 900 lb.
48 × 40 × 40 = 76,800 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 44.4 ft³. Density = 900 lb ÷ 44.4 ft³.
20.3 lb/ft³ → class 70 — raw resin packs dense, the cheap end of plastics.
Nested plastic totes — class 100
Totes nested and banded 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 — nesting keeps hollow plastics respectable.
The same totes, un-nested — class 175
The identical 550 lb of totes shipped open and un-nested, filling 90" high.
48 × 40 × 90 = 172,800 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 100.0 ft³. Density = 550 lb ÷ 100.0 ft³ = 5.5 lb/ft³.
5.5 lb/ft³ → class 175 — failing to nest costs multiple classes.
Nest hollow goods, palletize dense ones
For finished hollow plastics, nest aggressively and band the nested columns so they can't separate in transit. A pallet of nested totes rates far better than the same totes standing open, and the saving repeats on every shipment. Where items can't nest (closed containers, irregular molded parts), the usual bulky-freight rules apply — palletize full and square, don't ship half-empty cartons, and keep light molded goods off the dense-resin pallets.
Resin and dense plastic parts need only tight, weight-rated palletizing — they're already dense, so the job is not squandering it with loose loading. Watch mixed shipments: a few hollow containers riding on a resin pallet drag the whole unit's density down and can cost a class, so separate dense resin from hollow finished goods. The calculator below settles which side of a class line any configuration lands on.
What affects plastics freight class
- Solid vs. hollow/molded
- Nesting and stacking
- Resin vs. finished goods
- Packaging
Common plastics shipments include resin pellets, plastic containers and bins, molded parts, sheet and film.
Class guides covering the 70–100 range:
Calculate the freight class for your plastics
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 plastics?
Plastics & Plastic Products 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 plastics?
The main factors are solid vs. hollow/molded, nesting and stacking, resin vs. finished goods, packaging. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for plastics?
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 plastic?
Raw resin pellets and dense parts measure ~18–22 lb/ft³ → class 70; nested molded goods (totes, bins) rate class 100; un-nested or hollow containers drop to 5–8 lb/ft³ → class 150–200. The same plastic spans the whole range by form and packing.
How do I lower the freight class on plastic containers?
Nest them. Bins, totes and buckets are designed to stack inside each other, and a nested, banded column measures a fraction of the same items shipped open. It's the biggest density gain in the category and costs only a loading decision.
Do plastic resins and finished plastics ship at the same class?
No — resin pellets pack dense and rate around class 70, while finished hollow goods trap air and rate 100–200 depending on nesting. Keep dense resin and light finished plastics on separate pallets so the resin holds its cheaper class.