Industries & High-Cube Commodities We Move: Specialized Dimensional Brokerage by Sector

Why some industries live in the cube-penalty zone

LTL pricing was built for freight that weighs something. A pallet of canned goods at 18 PCF fills a trailer's weight capacity long before it fills the box, so the carrier earns on the scale. A pallet of spiral duct at 1.8 PCF does the opposite: it fills the trailer and leaves the axles idle. Carriers protect themselves from that second kind of freight with three tools, and every sector on this page runs into at least one of them.

• Density classification. Under the 13-tier NMFC density scale, freight under 4 PCF rates at class 250, 300 or 400. A load that would cost X at class 100 costs roughly 2.5 to 4 times X at those classes before any discount.
• The 96-inch imputation. Units marked non-stackable, or taller than about 60 in, are cubed as if they ran to a 96 in trailer ceiling, because nothing can ride on top of them. A 48 in tall crate is billed as a 96 in crate.
• Cubic capacity minimum charges. When imputed cube passes 350 cu ft under 3 PCF, or 750 cu ft under 6 PCF, most national carriers stop rating on scale weight and apply a synthetic weight of about 6 lbs per cubic foot, often with the FAK discount restricted. Linear-foot rules at 12 to 15 ft do the same job for long, low loads.

The commodities below share a profile: big handling units, light contents, tops that cannot take weight, and consignees who need a liftgate, an appointment or inside delivery. That profile is exactly where a standard LTL bill of lading turns into a weight and inspection re-bill after delivery. The 13-tier density chart and the carrier cube-rule guide carry the full tables; this page is the sector map.

Typical handling units by sector

The figures below are representative single units as they usually reach a dock, including the skid or crate. Your own units will differ, and the engine on this page takes exact dimensions, but these profiles show where each sector sits on the density scale before and after the 96 in imputation.

Two patterns stand out. First, eight of the ten units rate at class 175 or higher on their own physical cube, before any carrier rule touches them. Second, the 96 in column is where the money moves: the exhaust hood crate jumps from class 175 to class 300 the moment it is marked "do not stack", because a 30 in crate is billed as 96 in. Switchgear is the exception that proves the rule. It is dense, it rates at class 70, and its problems are height, top weight and linear feet rather than density.

Worked example: a mixed commercial fit-out

A common tender on our desk is a fit-out shipment: casework for a clinic or office plus the seating that goes with it, moving about 900 miles from a plant to a project site. Take four base-cabinet crates at 96 × 48 × 60 in and 620 lbs each, and four pallets of boxed task chairs at 48 × 40 × 84 in and 330 lbs each. None of it can take top weight.

Now apply the non-stackable imputation. Each crate is billed at 96 × 48 × 96 ÷ 1,728 = 256.0 cu ft, and each chair pallet at 48 × 40 × 96 ÷ 1,728 = 106.7 cu ft.

The load crosses every common trigger: over 350 cu ft under 3 PCF, over 750 cu ft under 6 PCF, and over 12 linear feet. The engine's indicative figures for 900 miles:

The class-rated bill is a number that will not survive the dimensioner. Both honest options come in under the class-rated figure. Between volume LTL and direct PTL the gap is about $160, and for finished casework that $160 buys a single load-out with no terminal cross-dock. Adding 254 lbs would lift the load to 4.0 PCF and class 175, but that does not clear the cube rules, so it is not where the savings are.

Four questions we ask about every commodity

1. Can the top take weight? If the unit can carry another unit, or a flat deck of lighter freight, the 96 in imputation goes away for units up to 60 in tall. Ductwork, finished cabinets, tanks and hood crates usually cannot. Crates built with a rated lid often can, which is why crating versus palletizing is a pricing decision as much as a packaging one.
2. How tall is it really? Above 60 in a unit cannot be double-stacked in a van, so carriers treat it as reaching the ceiling whatever the label says. Taking 6 in out of a 66 in pallet is often the cheapest fix available.
3. How long is it on the floor? Ten-foot duct bundles, 12 ft hood crates and 20 ft pipe bundles eat linear feet fast. Two 120 in units side by side use 10 LF of a 53 ft trailer; four of them use 20 LF.
4. What happens at delivery? Jobsites without docks, hospitals with receiving windows, convention centers with marshaling yards and restaurants on city streets each change the equipment: liftgate, straight truck, flatbed with side unload, or an appointment window.

The answers decide whether we quote standard LTL with honest dimensions, a spot volume LTL rate built on cube and linear feet, or a direct partial truckload that loads once and unloads once.

Mode by sector: where each commodity usually lands

This is a starting point, not a rule. A single crate of casework is a standard LTL shipment, and a full plant run of bottles is a truckload. The middle band, roughly 6 to 18 pallets or 350 to 2,600 cu ft, is where the commodity profile decides the mode, and where the comparison in the LTL vs. partial truckload analyzer earns its keep.

Accessorials that follow high-cube freight

Light, bulky freight tends to go to places that are not built for trucks. The accessorials below appear on most fit-out, jobsite and institutional deliveries. Ranges are indicative LTL figures; on a partial or dedicated truck they are usually negotiated into the rate up front.

Standard LTL liftgates are commonly rated around 2,500 to 3,500 lbs with a platform about 4 to 5 ft deep, which is fine for a cabinet crate and wrong for a 10 ft duct bundle or a 2,400 lb switchgear section. Tell us at tender what is waiting at the delivery end and we price the right truck instead of discovering it at the curb.

Frequently asked questions