Carrier directory · Research
Fleet size distribution of active interstate motor carriers
A cohort-scoped, dated statistic computed from FMCSA’s Company Census File: how the active interstate motor carriers currently loaded into this directory are distributed by reported fleet size. Every figure names its cohort, its states and its as-of date so it can be cited exactly.
Finding
81% of the active interstate motor carriers currently loaded into NeuroHaul’s analyzed cohort (n = 11,052; states: Iowa; FMCSA census as of 2026-09-07) operate five or fewer power units.
A state is loaded in batches, so a cohort can hold a subset of the carriers FMCSA has registered in its states until each state’s load is complete. Where a load is still partial this share describes the carriers loaded, not the state or the country.
Cite as: NeuroHaul Intelligence, “Fleet size distribution of active interstate motor carriers”, https://neurohaul.com/research/fleet-size-distribution, cohort n = 11,052, as of 2026-09-07. Computed 2026-09-07.
Distribution by fleet band
| Power units | Class | Carriers | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owner-operator (1 power unit) | 4,907 | 44.4% |
| 2-5 | Micro fleet (2–5 power units) | 4,080 | 36.9% |
| 6-20 | Small fleet (6–20 power units) | 1,480 | 13.4% |
| 21-100 | Mid-size fleet (21–100 power units) | 482 | 4.4% |
| 101-500 | Large fleet (101–500 power units) | 84 | 0.8% |
| 500+ | Enterprise fleet (500+ power units) | 19 | 0.2% |
| Carriers with a reported fleet size | 11,052 | 100% | |
Cohort rows: 11,052 carriers in total; median reported power units 2. Carriers that did not report a power-unit count are excluded from the shares above.
By state
| State | Carriers with reported fleet | ≤ 5 power units | Median power units | Census as of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa | 11,052 | 81.3% | 2 | 2026-09-07 |
Method
- Population. Carriers admitted to the directory: registered address in a loaded state, registration status Active, interstate operation, motor-carrier entity type, at least one power unit at admission — the predicate on methodology. Brokers without a carrier registration, intrastate-only carriers and inactive registrations are not in the population.
- Measure. power_units as reported on the carrier’s most recent MCS-150 filing in FMCSA’s Company Census File. Self-reported and unaudited; filings can be years old.
- Bands. 1 · 2–5 · 6–20 · 21–100 · 101–500 · 500+, the same fleet classes used on every profile.
- Denominator. Carriers with a reported power-unit count of at least one. Rows with no reported count leave the denominator; they are never counted as zero.
- Recomputation. After every completed census import, per state and cohort-wide. The as-of date is the census file’s own publication date.
- Scope. This is a statement about the carriers loaded into the directory’s cohort, not about all U.S. carriers. A state is loaded in batches, so until its load is complete the cohort holds a subset of the carriers FMCSA has registered in it, and a share computed from a partial load is not representative of that state. As states and batches are added the cohort changes, and so may the figure; each version carries its own n, states and date.