Kentucky motor carrier statistics
Kentucky ranks #18 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 43,360 active carriers — 2.0% of the U.S. total. 8,398 of them (19.4%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among Kentucky's 8,398 authority holders, 3,881 (46.2%) report a single power unit and 646 (7.7%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 2,187 (26.0%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — below the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Kentucky | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 43,360 | 2.0% of U.S. | rank #18 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 8,398 | 19.4% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 3,035 | 7.0% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Kentucky's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 9,951 | 22.9% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 1 | 0.00% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 33,404 | 77.0% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 4 | 0.01% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Kentucky.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 3,881 | 46.2% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 2,678 | 31.9% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 546 | 6.5% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 100 | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 1,193 | 14.2% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Kentucky's 8,398 active authority holders. Power-unit counts are self-reported on the MCS-150 and are not validated by FMCSA; a small number of records carry implausible values, so treat the top bucket as an upper bound.
MCS-150 filing currency
| Last recorded MCS-150 update | Carriers | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 5,515 | 65.7% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 2,187 | 26.0% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 696 | 8.3% | 8.7% |
FMCSA requires a biennial MCS-150 update. The cutoff above is the first day of the month 24 months before this page was rendered. A stale census date is a strong signal but not proof of a missed filing — check a specific USDOT number with the MCS-150 update checker.
Related
States with similar registration counts: New Jersey (49,712) · Indiana (47,168) · Maryland (44,312) · Massachusetts (39,868) · Alabama (35,623) · Arizona (31,959)
All 50 states and DC · Look up a carrier by USDOT or MC number · Check a carrier’s MCS-150 filing status
Source: FMCSA Company Census File (az4n-8mr2) on data.transportation.gov, refreshed daily. Figures computed by CarrierStat from the census snapshot dated 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC and aggregated by CarrierStat; FMCSA publishes no state-level rollup. Counts cover records with census status A (active) and a physical address in the 50 states or the District of Columbia; Canadian and Mexican registrants are excluded. Unofficial — verify any individual carrier at FMCSA SAFER.