Freight Class for Tires
Tires commonly ship at freight class 77.5 to 100, depending on size and whether they're shipped loose or palletized.
What is the freight class for tires?
A tire's density depends heavily on size — passenger tires pack denser than large truck or off-road tires. Loose tires waste space; banding and palletizing them tightly raises density and lowers the class.
Because freight class is density-driven, there isn’t a single fixed number for tires — class 77.5–100 is the common range. Run your actual dimensions and weight below to pin it down.
A tire is a dense ring around a hole
Tires are the textbook case of freight whose class is decided by geometry, not material. Rubber and steel belting are heavy — a passenger tire runs 25–30 pounds, a commercial drive tire well over 100 — but every tire carries its own built-in void, and stacked casually those voids ship as billed air. The entire craft of tire freight is packing the hole.
That's what lacing does. Laced (herringbone) stacking leans each tire into the bore of the ones below, so a pallet carries half again more tires in the same height than straight column stacking. It's the difference between the good end of the tire range and falling out of it entirely — and it costs nothing but a loading pattern.
Tires freight class: worked examples
Density is weight ÷ volume (cubic feet = L × W × H in inches ÷ 1,728). Here is how typical tires shipments measure out:
Laced passenger tires, full pallet — class 77.5
45 passenger tires herringbone-laced on a 48" × 40" pallet, 84" high, 1,260 lb.
48 × 40 × 84 = 161,280 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 93.3 ft³. Density = 1,260 lb ÷ 93.3 ft³.
13.5 lb/ft³ → class 77.5 — the good end of the tire range.
The same tires, loosely column-stacked — class 110
25 tires in casual columns on the same pallet, 78" high, 720 lb.
48 × 40 × 78 = 149,760 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 86.7 ft³. Density = 720 lb ÷ 86.7 ft³.
8.3 lb/ft³ → class 110, below the typical tire range. Unpacked bore space is billed air.
Commercial drive tires, laced tight — class 70
10 heavy drive tires laced on a 42" × 42" footprint, 88" high, 1,350 lb.
42 × 42 × 88 = 155,232 in³ ÷ 1,728 = 89.8 ft³. Density = 1,350 lb ÷ 89.8 ft³.
15.0 lb/ft³ → class 70. Commercial rubber laced well beats most general freight.
Passenger, commercial, and mounted sets
Size moves the math in opposite directions. Small passenger tires lace tight and pack high counts per pallet; big commercial and OTR tires are individually heavy enough that even modest stacks carry serious weight — a tightly-laced pallet of drive tires can cross into class 70, denser than most general freight. The tires that rate worst are middling loads handled lazily: a dozen loose passenger tires tossed in columns, all bore-space and gaps.
Mounted wheel-tire sets change the commodity: the wheel fills the bore with metal (denser), but sets can't lace and must stack flat in shorter columns (bulkier), and the finished faces need protection. Sets usually measure near the middle of the tire range — and they raise the value-per-pound enough that liability is worth checking alongside the class. Whatever the configuration, band the stack: a leaning tire column measures at its lean.
What affects tires freight class
- Passenger vs. truck/OTR size
- Loose vs. palletized
- Banding and stacking
- Mounted vs. unmounted
Common tires shipments include passenger car tires, truck and trailer tires, off-road and otr tires, mounted wheel-tire sets.
Class guides covering the 77.5–100 range:
Calculate the freight class for your tires
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
14.25
lb/ft³
Volume
53.33
ft³
Weight
760
lb
13.5–15 lb/ft³ → Class 77.5
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 tires?
Tires typically ships at freight class 77.5–100. 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 tires?
The main factors are passenger vs. truck/otr size, loose vs. palletized, banding and stacking, mounted vs. unmounted. Denser, tightly packed loads rate a lower class and cost less to ship.
How do I find the exact freight class for tires?
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 tires?
Laced palletized passenger tires typically measure 12–15 lb/ft³ → class 77.5–92.5; heavy commercial tires laced tight can reach class 70; loose column-stacked tires fall to 100–125. The stacking pattern is the class.
How many tires fit on a pallet for freight?
Herringbone-laced, roughly 40–50 passenger tires per 48" × 40" pallet at legal stack heights — about half again more than straight columns, because lacing packs each tire into the bore space of the layer below.
Do mounted wheel-and-tire sets ship at a different class?
Usually mid-range: the wheel adds dense metal but sets can't lace and stack shorter, so density lands near the middle of the tire band. Their higher value per pound also makes liability coverage worth reviewing alongside the class.