North Carolina motor carrier statistics
North Carolina ranks #11 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 54,206 active carriers — 2.5% of the U.S. total. 24,903 of them (45.9%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among North Carolina's 24,903 authority holders, 12,907 (51.8%) report a single power unit and 1,161 (4.7%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 6,545 (26.3%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — a higher share than the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | North Carolina | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 54,206 | 2.5% of U.S. | rank #11 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 24,903 | 45.9% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 4,309 | 7.9% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of North Carolina's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 23,637 | 43.6% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 1,027 | 1.9% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 29,529 | 54.5% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 13 | 0.02% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within North Carolina.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 12,907 | 51.8% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 6,637 | 26.7% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 963 | 3.9% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 198 | 0.8% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 4,198 | 16.9% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of North Carolina's 24,903 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 Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 16,583 | 66.6% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 6,545 | 26.3% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 1,775 | 7.1% | 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: Minnesota (75,926) · Wisconsin (65,498) · Illinois (55,826) · Ohio (51,983) · Washington (50,892) · Colorado (50,515)
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.