NCC is paying more attention to density-based ratings

By Ray Bohman -- Logistics Management, 3/1/2007

If you've been keeping an eye on supplements to the trucking industry’s National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) over the past several years, you’ll have noticed that more and more commodities listed there are being made subject to ratings (classes) that are based on density (weight per cubic foot). With about 1,000 less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carriers of general commodities participating in the NMFC, this is a trend that is affecting many, many shippers.

The National Classification Committee (NCC), composed of 100 trucking industry representatives elected from each of the 50 U.S. states, is responsible for establishing or amending classification descriptions and ratings for the 10,000-plus commodities published in the NMFC. The committee assigns to each commodity one or more of 18 different classes, ranging from a low of Class 50 for heavy articles such as “mud or compounds, gas- or oil-well drilling,” to a high of Class 500 for very light and bulky articles such as ping pong balls.

Most commodities listed in the NMFC are assigned a single class, although there are a number that have been assigned two or more classes, such as one for SU (set up) articles, another for KD (knocked down) articles, and yet another for KD flat (knocked-down flat) articles. You’ll also see some commodities that are subject to different ratings depending on whether they’re shipped folded, stacked, nested, folded flat, and so forth.

More and more, however, ratings that are based solely on density are being assigned to different commodities. Some commodities are subject to just two density-based ratings, while others are subject to three or more density-based ratings.

Where the NCC finds commodities that have a very wide range of densities, it often establishes a “multiple scale of ratings” based on density. The standard multiple scale of ratings based on density, which covers just over 100 different commodities, includes nine different density groups and nine different classes. These range from a low of Class 70, where densities are 15 pounds per cubic foot or greater, to a high of Class 400, where the density is less than one pound per cubic foot. Examples of commodities that fall under the standard multiple scale of ratings based on density include vacuum cleaners, tents or canopies, targets, and agricultural implement sets, to name just a few.

In the past few years, the NCC has adopted an even broader multiple scale of ratings based on density. This scale covers commodities in two groups: those that have densities of 22.5 pounds per cubic foot or greater but less than 30 pounds per cubic foot, which take a Class 65 rating; and those that have densities of 30 pounds per cubic foot or greater, which are assigned a Class 60 rating. Right now there are 25 different commodities that are subject to this broader multiple scale of ratings based on density. Examples include games or toys; bags; and lighting assemblies, devices or fixtures, to mention a handful.

The staff of the National Classification Committee continually receives reports from member carriers requesting an investigation of commodities that they believe are rated lower than they should be under the NCC’s density guidelines. When staffers agree that commodities are rated lower than is warranted, they present their findings to an NCC classification panel in one of three dockets issued annually, in early April, early August, and early December. Those reports are listed in the “Review Matters” section of the dockets.

After hearing the staff reports, the classification panel votes on whether or not to place a formal proposal on the next NCC docket to be issued. The dockets, which are issued 60 days prior to the NCC panel’s open meetings, can be reviewed online at www.nmfta.com.