Alabama motor carrier statistics
Alabama ranks #20 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 35,541 active carriers — 1.6% of the U.S. total. 10,634 of them (29.9%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among Alabama's 10,634 authority holders, 5,269 (49.5%) report a single power unit and 570 (5.4%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 3,285 (30.9%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — a higher share than the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Alabama | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 35,541 | 1.6% of U.S. | rank #20 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 10,634 | 29.9% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 2,672 | 7.5% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Alabama's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 10,021 | 28.2% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 609 | 1.7% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 24,900 | 70.1% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 11 | 0.03% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Alabama.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 5,269 | 49.5% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 2,822 | 26.5% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 441 | 4.1% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 129 | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 1,973 | 18.6% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Alabama's 10,634 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 | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 6,391 | 60.1% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 3,285 | 30.9% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 958 | 9.0% | 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: Maryland (44,165) · Kentucky (43,392) · Massachusetts (39,653) · Arizona (31,875) · Nebraska (29,110) · Oregon (28,821)
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.