Washington motor carrier statistics
Washington ranks #13 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 51,093 active carriers — 2.3% of the U.S. total. 15,289 of them (29.9%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-10-21 13:18 UTC.
Among Washington's 15,289 authority holders, 7,615 (49.8%) report a single power unit and 992 (6.5%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 3,848 (25.2%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before October 2024 — below the national 27.0%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Washington | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 51,093 | 2.3% of U.S. | rank #13 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 15,289 | 29.9% | 32.3% |
| Hazmat-registered | 3,410 | 6.7% | 6.7% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Washington's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 14,193 | 27.8% | 30.9% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 3 | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 36,884 | 72.2% | 68.8% |
| Not reported | 13 | 0.03% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Washington.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 7,615 | 49.8% | 49.4% |
| 2–9 power units | 4,487 | 29.3% | 27.1% |
| 10–49 power units | 810 | 5.3% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 182 | 1.2% | 1.3% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 2,195 | 14.4% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Washington's 15,289 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 | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2024 or later | 10,285 | 67.3% | 64.3% |
| Before October 2024 (over 24 months old) | 3,848 | 25.2% | 27.0% |
| No date recorded in the census | 1,156 | 7.6% | 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: Illinois (56,035) · North Carolina (54,241) · Ohio (52,189) · Colorado (50,629) · New Jersey (49,712) · Indiana (47,168)
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.