For FEDA members, understanding and preparing for these changes is especially crucial as LTL transportation rates have a solid connection to order profi tability, customer delivery success, supply chain continuity, and administrative resources.
as carrier pricing departments review shipments they handle based on new standards.
For FEDA members, understanding and preparing for these changes is especially crucial as LTL transportation rates have a solid connection to order profi tability, customer delivery success, supply chain continuity, and administrative resources. Foodservice equipment and supplies dealers have a higher rate of exposure to the proposed modifi cations compared to others because of the wide array of commodities they manage and ship. There are approximately 3,000 specifi c commodity items being addressed as part of the NMFC’s update in July, and Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) estimates more than 500 of them will affect FEDA members.
Understanding Freight Class
and the Proposed Change In LTL shipping, freight class directly infl uences the cost of a shipment. The NMFC categorizes freight into 18 classes, ranging from 50 (lowest) to 500 (highest). Lower freight classes apply to denser, easier-to-handle items, leading to lower shipping rates per hundred pounds. A higher freight class signifi es less dense, more diffi cult-to-handle items, leading to a higher rate per every hundred pounds shipped.
In addition to density, freight class is also determined by considering handling, stowability and liability. Collectively, these four characteristics determine the appropriate freight class, which LTL motor freight carriers use to calculate rate per hundred pounds and the discount based on their internal cost structures.
For the July update to the classifi cation codes, NMFTA is focusing on commodities they have identifi ed as being
“density-only” commodities, meaning they do not carry a unique consideration for handling, stowability or liability. As an example, a palletized 36-inch undercounter refrigerator is in scope, whereas a 12-foot commercial kitchen hood is “out of scope” due to its lack of stowability (how easily a shipment can fi t in a truck and across docks for transport). Staying with refrigeration, the current freight
classifi cation for all refrigeration, regardless of the shape or size, is class 150. This is referred to as a “static” class item, meaning all refrigeration is currently classifi ed as 150. Starting in July, refrigeration will become a “density-only” item in which the freight class will be determined based on the density (pounds per cubic foot, or PCF) of the refrigerator as it ships. Per the NMFTA’s revision, density-only items will be one
of 13 freight classifi cations, all based purely on PCF. This 13 sub-category classifi cation system ranges from class 50 to class 400. Class 150 (current for refrigeration) is not represented in this particular density scale; however, even if it were, FEDA members would still need to determine the PCF to apply the appropriate freight class to the bill of lading of each refrigeration shipment. Below is a representation of how the costs to
ship refrigeration might change, using the average characteristics of each unit and assuming the refrigerator is palletized and non-stackable:
Refrigeration
Current NMFC Average Percent NMFC in July
Increase in Cost
36-inch undercounter refrigerator 150
48-inch back bar cooler 150 54-inch reach-in
150
175 250 175
17% 44% 17%
Spring 2025 29
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
