South Carolina motor carrier statistics
South Carolina ranks #29 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 25,115 active carriers — 1.1% of the U.S. total. 12,587 of them (50.1%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among South Carolina's 12,587 authority holders, 7,092 (56.3%) report a single power unit and 446 (3.5%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 3,949 (31.4%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — a higher share than the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | South Carolina | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 25,115 | 1.1% of U.S. | rank #29 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 12,587 | 50.1% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 2,328 | 9.3% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of South Carolina's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 10,865 | 43.3% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 2 | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 14,245 | 56.7% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 3 | 0.01% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within South Carolina.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 7,092 | 56.3% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 2,959 | 23.5% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 347 | 2.8% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 99 | 0.8% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 2,090 | 16.6% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of South Carolina's 12,587 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 | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 7,770 | 61.7% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 3,949 | 31.4% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 868 | 6.9% | 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: Missouri (26,727) · Tennessee (25,908) · Virginia (25,369) · Utah (23,976) · Connecticut (21,734) · Kansas (19,140)
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.