Freight carrier statistics 2026

Operating authority and insurance

• 110,636USDOT numbers hold at least one active operating authority in FMCSA’s authority dataset, as of 2026-10-01.
• 98.4%of those carriers (108,879 of 110,636) have at least one insurance filing on record in FMCSA’s insurance dataset.

Roadside inspections and crashes

• 5,834,148roadside inspections were recorded against 592,889 carriers between 2024-08-28 and 2026-08-27.
• 22.8%of vehicle inspections (863,282 of 3,787,839) ended in a vehicle out-of-service order in that window.
• 6.1%of driver inspections (344,175 of 5,657,730) ended in a driver out-of-service order.
• 255,535reportable crashes were recorded in the same 24 months, 6,788 of them fatal, involving 112,363 carriers.

Safety ratings

• 2.4%of carriers with an active census status (53,338 of 2,245,127) have a safety rating. Most carriers have never had a compliance review.
• 77.4%of rated carriers are Satisfactory, 21.1% Conditional and 1.4% Unsatisfactory.

Registration updates

• 51.9%of active census records with an MCS-150 date (1,020,986 of 1,967,273) last updated it more than two years ago. The update is due every 24 months under 49 CFR 390.19.

Shared contact details

• 16.4%of carriers with active authority (17,847 of 108,746 with a phone on file) report a phone number that at least one other current census record also reports.
• 1.8%(1,981) share it with three or more other records. Shared offices and dispatch services are common; a match is a reason to confirm, not a finding.

What changed recently

• 3,025new census records first appeared in the 7 days to 2026-10-01.
• 116,607census field changes were observed on existing records in the same 7 days.
• 5,118operating authorities were granted in the 30 days to 2026-10-01.
• 11,292authority suspension notices took effect in the same 30 days.

• 22.26%FMCSA’s national average vehicle out-of-service rate, and 6.67% for drivers and 4.44% for hazmat, over the most recent 24 months of inspections, as of 28 Aug 2026. Source: FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot.
• $750,000Federal minimum BIPD liability for for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce with vehicles of 10,001 lb or more; $1,000,000 for oil and most hazardous materials; $5,000,000 for certain bulk hazardous materials. Source: 49 CFR 387.9.
• $10,000Maximum federal civil penalty per violation for unlawful brokerage, plus liability to the injured party. Source: 49 U.S.C. 14916.

Our vehicle and driver rates above are computed per carrier summary from the same public inspection files; FMCSA’s averages use its own monthly method, so small differences are expected.