Rhode Island motor carrier statistics
Rhode Island ranks #49 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 4,271 active carriers — 0.2% of the U.S. total. 1,608 of them (37.6%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among Rhode Island's 1,608 authority holders, 789 (49.1%) report a single power unit and 99 (6.2%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 315 (19.6%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — below the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Rhode Island | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 4,271 | 0.2% of U.S. | rank #49 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 1,608 | 37.6% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 591 | 13.8% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Rhode Island's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Rhode Island | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 2,937 | 68.8% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 85 | 2.0% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 1,234 | 28.9% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 15 | 0.4% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Rhode Island.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Rhode Island | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 789 | 49.1% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 505 | 31.4% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 81 | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 18 | 1.1% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 215 | 13.4% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Rhode Island's 1,608 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 | Rhode Island | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 1,188 | 73.9% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 315 | 19.6% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 105 | 6.5% | 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: South Dakota (6,428) · New Hampshire (6,113) · Hawaii (5,458) · Delaware (5,060) · Vermont (2,361) · District of Columbia (858)
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.