Wisconsin motor carrier statistics
Wisconsin ranks #9 of the 50 states and DC by active motor carrier registrations, with 65,498 active carriers — 3.0% of the U.S. total. 12,112 of them (18.5%) hold operating authority. Computed from FMCSA's census snapshot of 2026-09-04 10:47 UTC.
Among Wisconsin's 12,112 authority holders, 5,334 (44.0%) report a single power unit and 1,203 (9.9%) report a fleet of 10 or more. 3,348 (27.6%) last filed an MCS-150 biennial update before September 2024 — a higher share than the national 25.9%.
Registration overview
| Measure | Wisconsin | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active registrations | 65,498 | 3.0% of U.S. | rank #9 of 51 |
| With operating authority | 12,112 | 18.5% | 32.6% |
| Hazmat-registered | 4,951 | 7.6% | 7.0% |
“Share” is the measure as a percentage of Wisconsin's active registrations; “U.S. share” is the same percentage computed nationally, so the two columns are directly comparable.
Operation type
| Operation | Carriers | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interstate | 12,340 | 18.8% | 31.0% |
| Intrastate, hazmat | 1,495 | 2.3% | 2.1% |
| Intrastate, non-hazmat | 51,439 | 78.5% | 66.7% |
| Not reported | 224 | 0.3% | 0.2% |
Percentages are of active registrations. Interstate (census code A) carriers cross state lines; intrastate carriers operate only within Wisconsin.
Fleet size
| Power units | Carriers | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 5,334 | 44.0% | 49.8% |
| 2–9 power units | 3,628 | 30.0% | 26.8% |
| 10–49 power units | 952 | 7.9% | 5.0% |
| 50 or more power units | 251 | 2.1% | 1.2% |
| None reported (0 or blank) | 1,947 | 16.1% | 17.2% |
Percentages are of Wisconsin's 12,112 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 | Wisconsin | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 or later | 7,662 | 63.3% | 66.0% |
| Before September 2024 (over 24 months old) | 3,348 | 27.6% | 25.9% |
| No date recorded in the census | 1,102 | 9.1% | 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: Pennsylvania (82,028) · Michigan (77,948) · Minnesota (75,926) · Illinois (55,826) · North Carolina (54,206) · Ohio (51,983)
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.