NMFTA Freight Classification Changes Effective July 19, 2025

Effective July 19, 2025, the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is shifting the LTL freight classification system from a commodity-based approach to a density-based approach. Under the new system, LTL freight charges are determined by the weight and dimensions of a shipment rather than the specific characteristics of the commodities it contains. Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight refers to shipments that do not require a full truck and are consolidated with other shippers' cargo.

The Impact to Subscribers of LTL Freight Quote Products

Eniture Technology publishes products that provide LTL freight quotes during the e-commerce checkout process for the following e-commerce platforms:

BigCommerce
Magento
Shopify
WooCommerce
Wix

Historically, shippers have been able to utilize the traditional commodity-specific freight classification system. Only about five percent of shippers were subject to a pricing tariff that specified that rating would be performed using the weight and dimensions of the shipment. For quoting purposes, the traditional system is simple and highly efficient because it doesn't require the shipper to "build" the shipment before getting an accurate shipping quote.

The change announced by the NMFTA will require that the shipment weight and dimensions be known to obtain an accurate shipping quote for LTL freight. In other words, the shipment must be "built" before it's possible to get an accurate shipping quote. This new requirement is addressed by Eniture Technology's "pallet packing" algorithm.

BigCommerce - Available as an "add-on" feature. Using the app's navigation menu, navigate to Shipping Providers. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Enable button on the Pallet Packing tile.
Magento - Not available at this time.
Shopify - Available in all Shopify apps from Eniture Technology, which provides LTL freight quotes. Use the app's navigation menu to navigate to "Pallets".
WooCommerce - Available as an "add-on" plugin using this link: https://eniture.com/woocommerce-pallet-packaging/

Charges Associated with the Pallet Packing Algorithm

Using the pallet packing algorithm incurs additional charges. A lookup is counted each time the algorithm calculates a packing solution for a cart — for example, when a shopper requests a shipping quote at checkout. Billing is per-platform as described below:

BigCommerce & WooCommerce

For BigCommerce or WooCommerce, select the plan that most closely matches your expected monthly volume. If you exhaust your lookups before the end of the billing cycle, your plan will automatically renew at the same tier, resetting your lookup count.

100 lookups per month - $5.00 (5 cents each)

250 lookups per month - $10.00 (4 cents each)

500 lookups per month - $15.00 (3 cents each)

1,000 lookups per month - $20.00 (2 cents each)

2,500 lookups per month - $25.00 (1 cent each)

Shopify

For Shopify, use of the pallet packing algorithm results in a flat, 3 cent usage charge for each packing solution.

Will I Be Impacted By This Change by the NMFTA?

Your LTL freight provider is best positioned to answer this question. Contact them directly to confirm whether your account will be subject to the new density-based rating system effective July 19, 2025.

If the change announced by the NMFTA impacts your LTL freight account, it's unclear how each LTL freight provider will respond to API quote requests generated using the "old" commodity-based freight classification system. Any of the following may occur:

The freight provider may continue to provide accurate quotes using the commodity-specific freight classification system (at least for a period of time).
The freight provider may provide inaccurate quotes, which can only be resolved by implementing the "pallet packing" algorithm previously described.
The freight provider may return an error, which will likely manifest as a message to your website visitor, such as "We don't ship to your address" or a similar message.

What To Do If You're Impacted By the NMFTA Change...

The data requirements to accommodate the change announced by the NMFTA are very different than those for the commodity-specific freight classification system. In addition to identifying a freight class and weight for each item in your product catalog, you will need to:

Follow the instructions in the relevant User Guide to identify the sizes and capabilities of the pallets you stock for shipping purposes.
Enter dimensions for each item in your product catalog that may be included on an LTL freight shipment.
Identify, for the benefit of the packaging algorithm, the packing characteristics of each item in your product catalog (e.g., allow the item to be rotated for placement on a pallet). Refer to the Product Settings section in the User's Guide for instructions on these settings.

Follow the instructions in the relevant User's Guide to complete the setup of the pallet packing algorithm.