Montana motor carrier statistics
Montana ranks #41 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 9,035 active carriers — 0.4% of the U.S. total. 2,738 of them (30.3%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among Montana's 2,738 authority holders, 1,202 (43.9%) report a single power unit and 185 (6.8%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 574 (21.0%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — below the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Montana | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 9,035 | 0.4% of U.S. | rank #41 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 2,738 | 30.3% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 1,416 | 15.7% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Montana's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 3,330 | 36.9% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 4 | 0.04% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 5,698 | 63.1% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 3 | 0.03% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Montana.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 1,202 | 43.9% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 982 | 35.9% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 149 | 5.4% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 36 | 1.3% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 369 | 13.5% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Montana's 2,738 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 | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 1,927 | 70.4% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 574 | 21.0% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 237 | 8.7% | 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: West Virginia (11,163) · Arkansas (11,069) · Nevada (10,582) · Wyoming (6,847) · Alaska (6,591) · North Dakota (6,588)
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.