Iowa motor carrier statistics
Iowa ranks #25 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 26,806 active carriers — 1.2% of the U.S. total. 9,630 of them (35.9%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among Iowa's 9,630 authority holders, 4,382 (45.5%) report a single power unit and 825 (8.6%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 2,109 (21.9%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — below the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Iowa | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 26,806 | 1.2% of U.S. | rank #25 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 9,630 | 35.9% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 1,871 | 7.0% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Iowa's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 11,305 | 42.2% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 334 | 1.2% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 14,995 | 55.9% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 172 | 0.6% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Iowa.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 4,382 | 45.5% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 3,366 | 35.0% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 680 | 7.1% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 145 | 1.5% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 1,057 | 11.0% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Iowa's 9,630 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 | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 6,723 | 69.8% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 2,109 | 21.9% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 798 | 8.3% | 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: Nebraska (29,110) · Oregon (28,821) · Oklahoma (27,490) · Missouri (26,705) · Tennessee (25,837) · Virginia (25,348)
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.