How Many Trucking Companies in the U.S. (2025 Statistics)

As of mid-2025, there are roughly 2.09 million motor carrier companies registered with the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). 

This count comes from FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) snapshot on August 29, 2025, and covers all active freight carriers with USDOT numbers (both for-hire and private fleets, interstate and intrastate, hazardous and non-hazardous material haulers).

The 2024 Pocket Guide (using Dec. 2023 data) shows about 787,189 active carriers in the U.S. (interstate and intrastate HM only. The much larger ~2.09 million figure comes from including all intrastate (non-hazardous) freight carriers as well.

Here are some more interesting stats about trucking companies.

Number of Trucking Companies (Top Stats)

• 2.09 million motor carriers registered with FMCSA in 2025
  
• 787,189 active carriers in Dec 2023 (Pocket Guide)
  
• 580,000 carriers own or lease at least one truck tractor
  
• 602,542 carriers in 2019 → 813,844 in 2022 (+35%)
  
• 53.1% of carriers operate only 1 truck
  
• 15.7% of carriers operate 2 trucks
  
• 21.4% of carriers operate 3–10 trucks
  
• 519,420 for-hire carriers
  
• 197,563 private carriers
  
• 28,351 active property brokers
  
• 1,078 household-goods brokers
  
• 5,461 household-goods movers
  
• ~9 million drivers employed across trucking
  
• Texas ranks #1 in carrier counts, followed by CA, FL, OH, IL
  
• >5% declines in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama (1H 2024)
  
• Growth states: Idaho, Oregon, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana

Annual Growth in U.S. Trucking Companies

According to FMCSA data, the U.S. currently has on the order of 2.09 million active USDOT-registered motor carriers (including interstate and intrastate). (By contrast, industry sources note about 580,000 of these carriers own or lease at least one truck tractor.)

Over 2019–2022 the carrier count grew sharply: for example, FMCSA reports about 602,542 active carriers in 2019 versus 813,844 in 2022. Growth then stalled: 2023 ended with ~787,189 carriers, a decline of 26,655 (–3.3%) from 2022.

In fact, analyses show roughly 33,000 fewer carriers than the 2022 peak, and ~10,000 carriers exited in just the first half of 2024. These trends suggest the post-2020 boom in new trucking firms has given way to a slight contraction in 2023–24.

• 2019→2020: +35,179 carriers (+5.8%)
  
• 2020→2021: +119,931 carriers (+18.8%)
  
• 2021→2022: +56,192 carriers (+7.4%)
  
• 2022→2023: –26,655 carriers (–3.3%)
  
• Net change since 2022 peak: ~–33,000 carriers
  
• 1H 2024: ~–10,000 carriers

Sources: FMCSA, The Start News, TruckInfo

Breakdown by Fleet Size (Small, Medium, Large Carriers)

U.S. trucking is overwhelmingly dominated by small carriers. FMCSA’s latest data (Dec 2023) show:

• 1 truck: 418,526 carriers (53.1%)
  
• 2 trucks: 123,353 (15.7%)
  
• 3–10 trucks: 168,507 (21.4%)
  
• 11–100 trucks: 56,715 (7.2%)
  
• >100 trucks: 5,062 (0.64%)
  

In other words, about 91.5% of carriers operate ≤10 trucks, and 99.3% have fewer than 100. (Separately, ≈15,000 registrations have “no power units,” typically inactive carriers or non-freight operations.) In practice the vast majority of U.S. trucking firms are owner-operators or very small fleets, with only a tiny fraction running over 100 trucks.

Sources: FMCSA

Number of For-Hire vs. Private Trucking Companies

FMCSA classifies carriers as for-hire (hauling others’ freight) or private (hauling own goods). As of Dec 2023:

• For-hire: 519,420 carriers
  
• Private: 197,563 carriers
  
• Both for-hire & private: 67,667 carriers
  
• Neither (e.g. governmental or exempt): 2,539 carriers
  

Thus roughly 71% of FMCSA-regulated carriers are dedicated for-hire trucking companies, and about 27% are private fleets (some carriers hold both authorities).

Trucking Companies by State

Carrier counts vary widely by state. Recent data highlight regional shifts: several large Southern states saw steep declines, while some smaller states grew. For example, FMCSA registration trends (1H 2024) show Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama each lost >5% of their carriers, whereas only five states (Idaho, Oregon, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana) saw carrier counts increase in that period. In aggregate, the states with the largest numbers of carriers tend to be those with major freight volumes – Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, etc. – but exact state-by-state tallies require querying the FMCSA database.

• Declining states (1H 2024): Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama (–>5% each)
  
• Growing states (1H 2024): Idaho, Oregon, New Hampshire, Vermont, Indiana

Sources: TruckInfo

Top States with the Most Trucking Companies

While detailed rankings are not published, industry estimates indicate the top states by carrier count are those with the largest economies.

Texas consistently ranks #1 (hundreds of thousands of carriers), followed by California, Florida, Ohio, and Illinois.These states host the majority of large fleets and many distribution hubs. 

Year-over-Year Trends in Carrier Registrations

FMCSA’s annual snapshots reveal the year-over-year registration trends:

• 2022→2023: Active carriers fell from 813,844 to 787,189 (–26,655, –3.3% YOY).
  
• Peak vs. trough: This is about 33,000 fewer carriers than the late-2022 peak.
  
• 1H 2024: The contraction continued (~10,000 carriers closed).
  

In short, the post-2020 surge in new carrier start-ups has subsided; net carrier registrations have recently been flat or shrinking. (Even though new authorities are still issued, many small operators are exiting the industry.)

Source: FMCSA

Other Trucking-Related Businesses

The trucking ecosystem also includes many non-carrier businesses. For instance, FMCSA-regulated freight brokers (who arrange shipping for others) number in the tens of thousands: there were 28,351 active property brokers in 2023, plus 1,078 household‑goods brokers.(Brokers are not motor carriers but hold USDOT/MC numbers to operate.) 

Likewise, there are thousands of registered household-goods movers (5,461 active in 2023). In addition, the industry employs on the order of 9 million drivers (about 5.6 million driving interstate) and relies on support sectors like truck manufacturing, maintenance, fueling and logistics services (truck stops, parts suppliers, insurance, etc.). These related businesses are not counted in the motor-carrier totals above, but they form the broader trucking supply chain.

Conclusion

In summary, FMCSA records show roughly 2.1 million active U.S. motor carriers (including all interstate/intrastate operations) as of 2025. Above mentioned statistics (from FMCSA and ATA sources) paint a picture of a huge yet highly fragmented industry largely composed of very small trucking firms.

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