The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA, Alexandria, Va.) will begin publishing the new issue of the National Motor Freight Classification NMF 100-AF (NMFC) in November. NMFTA is a nonprofit membership association representing less-than-truckload carriers throughout North America. The NMFC is known as the "definitive industry standard" by carriers and shippers alike for classifying goods for transport in North America.
NMFTA has been assembling the data and compiling the material that underlies the Classification for nearly 50 years. The new issue will begin shipping in November of this year and have an effective date of December 24, 2005.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to market and sell our own work product," said William Pugh, executive director of NMFTA. "For many years the NMFTA was considered primarily the organization which was responsible for acting on the behalf of its members to research, develop, and maintain the classifications that comprise the NMFC."
The NMFC classifies all types of goods and materials transported by truck in North America. The Classification is a valuable tool that facilitates comparisons of the transportability of commodities moving in intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce. Commodities are assigned one of 18 classes based on four transportation characteristics: density, stowability, handling and liability. The NMFC comprises one of the two components of motor carrier pricing systems. The price for shipping goods is determined by referring to the classes included in the NMFC in combination with motor carrier rate schedules, which are in turn dependent on factors such as shipment weight and the route and distance over which the shipment moves.
The NMFC also includes packaging requirements for each type of commodity to ensure adequate protection for products moving in LTL motor carrier service. In order to use the provisions of the NMFC, motor carriers must become participants and they do so through NMFTA.
The classification provisions of the NMFC constitute industry standards that are developed and maintained by the National Classification Committee (NCC), an autonomous standing committee of 100 elected carrier representatives represent more than 1,100 motor carriers participating in the NMFC. The NCC is regulated by the United States Surface Transportation Board.
The NMFC can be purchased by participants in the NMFC for $119.00 and non-participants for $160.00, plus $16.50 for shipping and handling. It contains more than 8,000 product classifications and 750 pages of material. For more information on the NMFC or to purchase a copy, go to www.nmfta.org, or call 866-411-6632.
Source: National Motor Freight Traffic Association
