LTL density calculator
Enter each piece as it will ship, pallet included. You get the density and the freight class the way the carriers’ own density calculators work it out, and whether rounding up to the next inch, as their dimensioners do, would move you into a different class.
Inputs
Result
The carriers’ own density calculators
What each one asks for, from the carrier’s own page. Your class on the bill of lading is still the one in the NMFC item for your commodity; density decides it only where the item is density-based.
| Carrier | Tool | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| XPO | Density and Class Calculator xpo.com, Shipper tools | “Measure the length, width and height of the shipment, including packaging and pallet dimensions”, then enter them with the weight. Returns density and class. |
| Old Dominion (ODFL) | Freight Density & Cube Calculator odfl.com, under Other Tools | Density and cube from dimensions and weight, “evaluating the weight of your cargo in relation to the space it occupies”. |
| Saia | Freight Density Calculator saia.com, Tools and Resources | Length, width and height in inches and weight in pounds; Saia calls it “a tool to help determine the appropriate classification”. |
| Estes | Freight Class and Density Calculator estes-express.com | Quantity, length, width, height and weight, returning cube, density and an estimated class; a separate calculator for cylinders. Says to include the pallet’s height and weight. |
| R+L Carriers | Density Calculator rlcarriers.com | Dimensions and weight to density. |
They all do the same sum
XPO, Old Dominion, Saia, Estes and R+L each have a density calculator, and underneath the branding they all do one thing: divide the weight by the space the freight takes up.
Estes publishes a worked example, and this calculator reproduces it: a 25 × 24 × 23 in carton weighing 90 lb is 7.99 ft³ and 11.27 pcf. Put it on a 46 × 42 in pallet, 29 in high overall with about 30 lb of pallet, and it becomes 32.42 ft³ and 3.70 pcf — the same freight, from class 92.5 to class 250. That is why every carrier tells you to measure the pallet in.
The class each band maps to is the National Motor Freight Classification’s density scale, which since 19 July 2025 has thirteen subprovisions, from under 1 pcf at class 400 to 50 pcf and over at class 50. The carriers’ calculators estimate the class from that scale; the freight class calculator shows the whole scale.
Drums, rolls and other round freight
A cylinder takes up the square space around it on the trailer, so it is measured as a box: diameter × diameter × height. Estes gives the same rule in its cylinder calculator. Four 23 in drums 35 in high, 2,000 lb in all, are 42.86 ft³ and 46.66 pcf, class 55. Pick “Cylinder” on a line and the calculator does this for you.
Why the carrier’s number can differ from yours
Carriers run freight through dimensioners that measure the outside of the load, overhang and all, and round every dimension up. Estes says it plainly: carriers “may also reweigh and dimension your freight to verify density.” Near the edge of a band, an inch is enough. A pallet you measured at 47.6 × 40 × 47.2 in and 425 lb is 8.17 pcf, class 100. Rounded up to 48 × 40 × 48 it is 7.97 pcf, class 125, and the invoice comes back reclassed. The calculator works your shipment both ways and warns you when they disagree.
Questions
How do I use the XPO density calculator?
XPO asks you to measure the length, width and height of the shipment including packaging and the pallet, and to enter them with the weight; it returns the density and class. This page does the same arithmetic — weight divided by L × W × H ÷ 1,728 — and also shows what happens when the dimensions are rounded up the way a dimensioner records them.
How does the ODFL density calculator work?
Old Dominion's Freight Density & Cube Calculator divides the weight by the cube worked out from the dimensions. The result is pounds per cubic foot, which sets the class on the NMFC density scale for density-based items. The same calculation runs on this page, with the class shown on the 13-sub scale in use since July 2025.
What is the Saia freight class calculator?
Saia's Freight Density Calculator takes length, width and height in inches and weight in pounds and gives the density, which Saia describes as a tool to help determine the appropriate classification. The class still comes from the NMFC item for your commodity.
How do I calculate density for Estes?
Estes' calculator takes quantity, length, width, height and weight, and says to include the pallet's height and weight. Its own example: 25 × 24 × 23 in at 90 lb is 11.27 pcf. For cylinders it squares the diameter and multiplies by the height.
Is there an R+L Carriers density calculator?
Yes, on rlcarriers.com. Like the others it divides the weight by the cube. Use the same measurements here, pallet included and rounded up to the next inch, to see the class before you book.
Do all LTL carriers calculate density the same way?
The arithmetic is the same everywhere: weight divided by cubic feet, with the pallet and packaging included. Where carriers differ is in their own rules tariffs — reweighing, linear foot and cubic capacity rules — and in how their dimensioners round. Measure to the outside of the load and round up, and you will usually match them.
Why did the carrier reclass my shipment?
Usually because their dimensioner measured it bigger than you did: overhang, a bulging carton or the pallet left out of the height. Each dimension is rounded up, so a load close to the edge of a density band can drop a band. The calculator shows your class both as measured and rounded up.
More LTL freight calculators
Freight class calculator
Freight class from your pallet dimensions and weight, on the 13-sub NMFC density scale.
Freight density calculator
Pounds per cubic foot for one piece or a pallet, and the class band it falls in.
Pallet calculator
Cartons per pallet with a real packing solver, and how many pallets fit in a 53 ft trailer, box truck or container.
Linear feet calculator
How many linear feet of trailer a shipment takes, loaded straight, turned or stacked, and whether it trips the linear foot rule.
Fuel surcharge calculator
Surcharge per mile from the diesel price, base price and mpg, with the all-in rate.