North Carolina motor carrier statistics
North Carolina ranks #11 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 54,241 active carriers — 2.4% of the U.S. total. 24,672 of them (45.5%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among North Carolina's 24,672 authority holders, 12,624 (51.2%) report a single power unit and 1,172 (4.8%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 6,824 (27.7%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — a higher share than the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | North Carolina | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 54,241 | 2.4% of U.S. | rank #11 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 24,672 | 45.5% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 4,157 | 7.7% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of North Carolina's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 23,513 | 43.3% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 3 | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 30,718 | 56.6% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 7 | 0.01% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within North Carolina.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 12,624 | 51.2% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 6,713 | 27.2% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 975 | 4.0% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 197 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 4,163 | 16.9% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of North Carolina's 24,672 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 | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 15,908 | 64.5% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 6,824 | 27.7% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 1,940 | 7.9% | 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: Minnesota (76,315) · Wisconsin (65,647) · Illinois (56,035) · Ohio (52,189) · Washington (51,093) · Colorado (50,629)
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.