South Dakota motor carrier statistics
South Dakota ranks #45 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 6,428 active carriers — 0.3% of the U.S. total. 3,025 of them (47.1%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among South Dakota's 3,025 authority holders, 1,422 (47.0%) report a single power unit and 204 (6.7%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 646 (21.4%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — below the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | South Dakota | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 6,428 | 0.3% of U.S. | rank #45 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 3,025 | 47.1% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 700 | 10.9% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of South Dakota's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 4,332 | 67.4% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 92 | 1.4% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 2,003 | 31.2% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 1 | 0.02% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within South Dakota.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 1,422 | 47.0% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 1,060 | 35.0% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 168 | 5.6% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 36 | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 339 | 11.2% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of South Dakota's 3,025 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 Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 2,155 | 71.2% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 646 | 21.4% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 224 | 7.4% | 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: Wyoming (6,838) · North Dakota (6,591) · Alaska (6,575) · New Hampshire (6,113) · Hawaii (5,458) · Delaware (5,060)
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.