Trucking execs answer questions on freight classification changes

Trucking leaders are increasingly fielding questions from LTL shippers and other stakeholders about looming National Motor Freight Classification changes planned for this year.

Several LTL carrier executives have weighed in on the changes, as shippers begin to consider how the National Motor Freight Traffic Association’s upcoming shift to a density-based system could affect them.

To provide a sense of how trucking companies view the proposed move to a 13-class system from the existing 11 classes, we’ve gathered recent commentary from Estes Express Lines, XPO and Old Dominion Freight Line on the topic. The changes are scheduled to go into effect in July.

A ton of bricks vs. a ton of feathers

When Estes CEO Rob Estes gets questions about why the classification system exists at all, he likes to refer to the old children’s riddle: Which weighs more, a ton of bricks or a ton of feathers?

“They…