How big are new trucking companies?
Reviewed · Numbers are Rookiefeed analysis as of , updated daily
Most new trucking companies are one truck. 67% of carriers granted for-hire authority in the 30 days ending October 19, 2026 reported a single power unit to FMCSA, and 96% reported five or fewer. Only 1.6% started with more than 10. Fleet size comes from the power units each carrier lists on its MCS-150 registration.
Fleet size of new carriers nationally
All 5,591 carriers granted for-hire operating authority in the 30 days ending October 19, 2026, grouped by the number of power units on their FMCSA registration.
| Fleet size | New carriers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 truck | 3,747 | 67% |
| 2 to 5 trucks | 1,623 | 29% |
| 6 to 10 trucks | 112 | 2% |
| 11 to 50 trucks | 71 | 1.3% |
| 51 or more trucks | 15 | 0.3% |
| Not reported | 1 | 0% |
| Not reported | 22 | 0.4% |
What counts as a truck here
- Power units are the trucks and tractors a carrier reports owning, term-leasing or trip-leasing on its MCS-150 registration. Trailers don't count.
- The figure is self-reported when the carrier registers. A new carrier can add trucks within weeks, and FMCSA only asks for an update every two years, so the registration can lag reality.
- "Not reported" means the registration had no usable power-unit count when we last checked.
- A one-truck carrier is usually an owner-operator who drives it, but the registration doesn't say who drives, so we don't count owner-operators directly.
One-truck share in the top 10 states
The 10 states with the most new carriers in the same window, with the share of each state's new carriers at one truck and at two to five.
| State | New carriers | 1 truck | 2 to 5 trucks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 642 | 64.6% | 31.3% |
| California | 578 | 77.7% | 19.6% |
| Florida | 435 | 73.3% | 24.8% |
| Illinois | 344 | 66% | 27.6% |
| Ohio | 287 | 74.6% | 23% |
| Pennsylvania | 282 | 66% | 30.5% |
| Georgia | 207 | 62.8% | 32.4% |
| North Carolina | 204 | 60.8% | 34.8% |
| New Jersey | 169 | 67.5% | 29.6% |
| Indiana | 138 | 64.5% | 31.9% |
The carriers with two to ten trucks
29% of new carriers in the 30 days ending October 19, 2026 reported two to five power units and 2% reported six to ten. They're a minority of the list, but each one is a bigger account for every kind of seller.
Some of them aren't brand-new businesses. A company that hauled intrastate or as a private fleet, then applied for for-hire interstate authority, can show up with trucks already running. The USDOT added date on the row helps tell them apart: an old USDOT number with a new MC usually means an existing operation taking on new work.
Returning carriers, whose docket held authority before, can also start with several trucks. They're worth separating from first-time authorities because they may already have a factor, agent or dispatcher. See first-time vs returning authority.
Confirm the size on the first call
Because power units are self-reported at registration, treat the count as a starting point. Asking "Are you still running one truck, or have you added any?" is a natural opener that shows you looked them up, and it tells you right away whether the account fits what you sell. Drivers, tractors and trailers on the row add context: one driver and one tractor usually means the owner is behind the wheel.
Other size signals on the row
- Drivers: more drivers than trucks can mean team driving or a carrier hiring ahead of new trucks.
- Tractors and trailers: a tractor count with no trailers can point to power-only work.
- USDOT added date: an older USDOT number with a brand-new MC points to an existing operation, not a startup.
- Email type: a company-domain email instead of a free mailbox can mean a more established setup.
- Cargo list: a long list of cargo classes says less about size than about what the owner checked at registration, so don't read too much into it.
What fleet size means for sellers
- Factoring: one-truck carriers are most of the volume and need cash flow fastest, but each one factors a single truck's invoices. Two to ten trucks are fewer, bigger accounts. See why new carriers need factoring.
- Insurance: premium generally rises with unit count, so a five-truck new venture is a bigger account than a one-truck one, and fewer markets may write it.
- Dispatch: owner-operators with one truck are the core market, since they're driving and can't also be on the load board all day. See finding owner-operators for dispatch.
- Any buyer: filter by fleet size before you call, so the list matches the size of account you can actually serve.
Getting the list by fleet size
Rookiefeed puts power units, tractors, trailers and drivers on every new carrier row, and the dashboard filters by fleet size before the 7am Central email goes out. Rookiefeed is $59 a month for one state once a week, $149 for one state every day, $299 for up to 8 states and $599 for every state, and you can cancel any time.
Try the fleet-size filter with the free list builder. National totals are on the stats page.
Questions
- How many trucks does a new trucking company usually have?
- One. 67% of carriers granted new for-hire authority in the 30 days ending October 19, 2026 reported a single power unit on their FMCSA registration, and 96% reported five or fewer.
- Where does new carrier fleet size data come from?
- From the power units each carrier reports on its MCS-150 registration with FMCSA: trucks and tractors it owns, term-leases or trip-leases. It's self-reported at registration and can lag if the carrier adds trucks soon after starting.
- Are most new trucking companies owner-operators?
- Most start with one truck, which usually means an owner-operator running their own authority. FMCSA's registration records power units and drivers but not whether the owner drives, so the one-truck share is the closest measure rather than a direct count.
Every new carrier, by 7am
Owner name, phone, email, fleet, equipment and insurer for each carrier FMCSA authorized yesterday, as a CSV.