ClassIT® provides carriers and shippers the National Motor Freight
Classification (NMFC), a standard tool that compares
commodities moving in interstate, intrastate and foreign
commerce. Commodities are grouped into one of 18 classes
from a low of class 50 to a high of class 500 based on an
evaluation of four transportation characteristics: density,
stowability, handling and liability. Together, these
characteristics establish a commodity's transportability.
For classification purposes all commodities are evaluated on
the basis of the four transportation characteristics and
ONLY on the basis of those four characteristics. The NMFC
thus provides both carriers and shippers with a standard by
which to begin negotiations and greatly simplifies the
comparative evaluation of the thousands of products moving
in today's competitive marketplace.
What is the NMFC?
The National Motor Freight Classification and ClassIT, the online version of the NMFC, are
standards tools that provide a comparison of commodities
moving in interstate, intrastate and foreign transport.
Based on an evaluation of density, stowability, ease of
handling and liability, the commodities are grouped into one
of 18 classes. The NMFC and ClassIT provide
both carriers and shippers with a standard by which to begin
negotiations and greatly simplify the comparative evaluation
of the many thousands of products moving in today’s
marketplace.
How Are Changes Made and Who Makes Them?
Changes to the Classification are made in open
public meetings by the Commodity Classification Standards
Board (CCSB). Any person may propose a change to the Classification and appear at any meeting or submit
statements expressing a point of view regarding a Classification proposal. Further, changes to the NMFC are easily and expeditiously made. And, any interested
person who is dissatisfied with the disposition of a
proposal may request reconsideration, or if they are a Party
of Record to the proposal they may request arbitration .
Who Participates in the NMFC?
Participation in the National Motor Freight
Classification allows a carrier to use or reference the NMFC in their rate schedules or contracts with their
customers. Participation is accomplished by the completion
of a limited Power of Attorney, authorizing NMFTA to publish
the carrier’s participation in the NMFC, and payment
of an annual fee. Only those carriers that are bona fide
participants in the classification may use or refer to its
provisions. Participation may be verified by utilizing the
“Carrier” search feature in the Advanced Search function.
When is Participation Required?
Under 49 U.S.C. 13703(g), participation is required of
any carrier that uses or references any provision that is
contained in the National Motor Freight Classification,
including its commodity descriptions, classes, rules,
packaging specifications or bills of lading. Use of the NMFC by any non-participating carrier to determine rates
or charges renders those rates or charges invalid. In order
for any carrier to use the NMFC in pricing or for any
other purpose, they must participate.
Application of Provisions
To be applicable, a commodity description must “match”
the product that is being shipped. In many cases, more than
one description can apply to a given product. In such
instances, you must review the potential descriptions and
apply the one that most specifically describes the article
in question. Some commodity descriptions are very specific
and limit their application to particular products, such as
commodities of a particular material construction, or
commodities in a particular form of shipment, i.e., set up
(SU) or knocked down (KD). Other descriptions are general,
usually referred to as “NOI” (not more specifically
described herein) provisions, and embrace broad groups of
commodities. For example, since no specific description
exists for “plastic bottles,” the provisions of item 156600,
naming “Plastic Articles, NOI, other than expanded,” apply.
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