North Dakota motor carrier statistics
North Dakota ranks #43 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 6,591 active carriers — 0.3% of the U.S. total. 3,377 of them (51.2%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among North Dakota's 3,377 authority holders, 1,463 (43.3%) report a single power unit and 313 (9.3%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 866 (25.6%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — below the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | North Dakota | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 6,591 | 0.3% of U.S. | rank #43 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 3,377 | 51.2% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 715 | 10.8% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of North Dakota's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 3,785 | 57.4% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 167 | 2.5% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 2,600 | 39.4% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 39 | 0.6% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within North Dakota.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 1,463 | 43.3% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 1,247 | 36.9% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 247 | 7.3% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 66 | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 354 | 10.5% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of North Dakota's 3,377 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 Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 2,302 | 68.2% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 866 | 25.6% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 209 | 6.2% | 8.1% |
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: Nevada (10,572) · Montana (9,030) · Wyoming (6,838) · Alaska (6,575) · South Dakota (6,428) · New Hampshire (6,113)
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 2026-09-04 10:47 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.