Shipping Canned Goods Freight Class Guide
Canned Goods typically classify around Class 50, in the 50-65 lb/ft³ density range. Palletized canned food, shrink-wrapped.
Calculate Canned Goods Freight Class
Enter your actual shipment dimensions and weight below. Typical canned goods run 1,800-2,400/pallet lb, but your exact class depends on your specific shipment's measured density.
Measure the full footprint including packaging, and include pallet weight in your total. Carriers will re-measure at the terminal.
Shipping Canned Goods the Right Way
Weight, Not Cube, Drives Load Planning
A palletized canned goods load reaches its legal weight limit well before it fills the trailer's available space, so dispatch plans these loads around axle weight distribution rather than cubic capacity, the opposite of what lighter, bulkier commodities require.
Rust and Moisture Are the Real Risk
Cans are individually sturdy, but moisture exposure at the pallet edges or a leaking neighboring shipment can rust cans and damage labels, which is a bigger practical risk to a canned goods load than the impact damage that affects most other freight.
Shrink Wrap Holds the Pallet Together
Dense, heavy canned goods pallets rely on tight, multi-layer shrink or stretch wrap to keep individual cases from shifting under their own weight, since a loosely wrapped pallet of this density can settle and lean noticeably over a long haul.
Canned Goods: What Carriers and Shippers Look For
Canned goods are about as dense as general commercial freight gets, landing at the very bottom of the class table around Class 50. A palletized load of canned goods hits its legal weight limit long before it fills the trailer's cubic space, which flips the usual planning logic: dispatch worries about axle weight distribution on canned goods loads the way it worries about cube on lighter commodities. Shrink wrap integrity and dry storage matter more here than almost any structural packaging concern, since rust and can damage are the real risks.
Why Canned Goods Classify Around Class 50
Palletized canned goods typically run 50 to 65 pounds per cubic foot, dense enough to sit at Class 50, the lowest class on the standard density table. Cans themselves are solid, tightly packed cylinders with almost no wasted internal space, and cased together on a pallet they represent some of the most efficient freight by cube that a dry van will ever carry, which is exactly why canned goods rate so favorably on a per-pound basis.
Packaging Tips That Protect the Class
Tight, multi-layer shrink or stretch wrap around the full pallet keeps cases from shifting under the load's own considerable weight, and also protects against the moisture exposure that leads to rust and label damage on outer cans, the most common cosmetic claim on this commodity.
Pallets should be built with even case stacking and no overhang past the pallet edge, since an overhanging case on a load this heavy is more likely to get crushed or knocked loose during standard handling than the same overhang would be on lighter freight.
Equipment and Handling Notes
Dry van is standard. Because canned goods pallets are so heavy relative to their footprint, proper weight distribution across the trailer's axles matters more than usual, and a full load of canned goods pallets will typically reach legal gross weight well before the trailer is physically full.
Common Shipping Mistakes
The most common mistake is planning a canned goods load around available cube rather than legal axle weight, which can leave a shipper surprised when a visually half-empty trailer is already at its weight limit. The second is inadequate shrink wrap on heavy pallets, which allows cases to shift and settle over a long haul even when nothing was damaged at loading.
Related Food & Beverage
Carriers Hauling Canned Goods
“Canned goods loads are all about the axle weight. The trailer looks nowhere near full when I'm already at my legal limit.”
“I check shrink wrap tightness on every canned goods pallet before I pull out. That much weight settles fast if the wrap isn't tight.”