Massachusetts motor carrier statistics
Massachusetts ranks #19 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 39,868 active carriers — 1.8% of the U.S. total. 9,996 of them (25.1%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among Massachusetts's 9,996 authority holders, 4,459 (44.6%) report a single power unit and 738 (7.4%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 2,687 (26.9%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — below the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Massachusetts | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 39,868 | 1.8% of U.S. | rank #19 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 9,996 | 25.1% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 3,548 | 8.9% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Massachusetts's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 14,542 | 36.5% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 1 | 0.00% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 25,321 | 63.5% | 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 Massachusetts.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 4,459 | 44.6% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 3,188 | 31.9% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 613 | 6.1% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 125 | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 1,611 | 16.1% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Massachusetts's 9,996 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 | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 6,566 | 65.7% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 2,687 | 26.9% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 743 | 7.4% | 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: Indiana (47,168) · Maryland (44,312) · Kentucky (43,360) · Alabama (35,623) · Arizona (31,959) · Nebraska (29,131)
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.