North Dakota motor carrier statistics
North Dakota ranks #44 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 6,588 active carriers — 0.3% of the U.S. total. 3,356 of them (50.9%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among North Dakota's 3,356 authority holders, 1,423 (42.4%) report a single power unit and 312 (9.3%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 898 (26.8%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — below the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | North Dakota | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 6,588 | 0.3% of U.S. | rank #44 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 3,356 | 50.9% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 691 | 10.5% | 6.7% |
“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 | 3,795 | 57.6% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 0 | 0.0% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 2,756 | 41.8% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 37 | 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 | 1,423 | 42.4% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 1,267 | 37.8% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 241 | 7.2% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 71 | 2.1% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 354 | 10.5% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of North Dakota's 3,356 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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 2,242 | 66.8% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 898 | 26.8% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 216 | 6.4% | 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: Montana (9,035) · Wyoming (6,847) · Alaska (6,591) · South Dakota (6,447) · New Hampshire (6,155) · Hawaii (5,513)
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.