New Trucking Authority Report: October 2026
Covers October 1, 2026 to October 31, 2026. Rookiefeed analysis, frozen on . PDF · Markdown
FMCSA granted operating authority to 6,566 new for-hire carriers in October 2026, about 261 per business day (+38.8% vs September 2026). 97.7% were first-time authorities, and the median wait from application to grant was 24 days. Texas, California and Florida had the most new carriers.
Headline numbers
| Measure | October 2026 | September 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New for-hire carriers | 6,566 | 4,732 | +38.8% |
| Per business day | 261 | 189 | +38.1% |
| New carrier applications | 8,044 | 10,095 | -20.3% |
| New broker authorities | 405 | 274 | +47.8% |
| First-time authorities | 97.7% | 96% | |
| Liability insurance on file | 99.5% | 98.9% |
How long did MC authority take?
Median 24 days from a first-time carrier's application to its grant, measured on 6,356 authorities. A quarter took 15 days or less; one in ten took more than 74. By state: MC authority wait times.
| 25th percentile | Median | Mean | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 24 | 34 | 42 | 74 |
Which states had the most new carriers?
| State | New carriers | vs last month | Median wait (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 762 | +41.4% | 25 |
| California | 658 | +26.5% | 31 |
| Florida | 518 | +48.4% | 25 |
| Illinois | 414 | +40.3% | 22 |
| Ohio | 345 | +58.3% | 23 |
| Pennsylvania | 333 | +26.6% | 23 |
| Georgia | 260 | +34% | 25 |
| North Carolina | 221 | +7.3% | 22 |
| New Jersey | 206 | +32.9% | 27 |
| Indiana | 170 | +57.4% | 23 |
Top 15 cities:
| City | New carriers |
|---|---|
| Houston, TX | 104 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 80 |
| Fresno, CA | 76 |
| Chicago, IL | 68 |
| Indianapolis, IN | 57 |
| Columbus, OH | 55 |
| Miami, FL | 54 |
| Orlando, FL | 47 |
| Charlotte, NC | 44 |
| Las Vegas, NV | 40 |
| Dallas, TX | 38 |
| Bakersfield, CA | 35 |
| Sacramento, CA | 35 |
| San Antonio, TX | 33 |
| Louisville, KY | 31 |
How big were the new carriers, and what do they haul?
| Power units | Share |
|---|---|
| 1 truck | 66.7% |
| 2 to 5 trucks | 29.2% |
| 6 to 10 trucks | 2% |
| 11 to 50 trucks | 1.3% |
| 51 or more trucks | 0.4% |
| Not reported | 0.4% |
| Equipment | Share |
|---|---|
| Dry van | 87.7% |
| Flatbed | 14.5% |
| Hopper/Bulk | 7.5% |
| Car hauler | 7.5% |
| Reefer | 6.2% |
| Intermodal | 3.7% |
| Tanker | 1.5% |
| Livestock | 1.4% |
Equipment is inferred from registered cargo, so one carrier can count toward several types. More: new carriers by equipment, fleet sizes by state.
Who insured them?
| Insurer on the latest liability filing | Share |
|---|---|
| United Financial Casualty Company | 12.2% |
| GEICO Marine Insurance Company | 8.8% |
| Artisan & Truckers Casualty Company | 8% |
| Progressive Preferred Insurance CO. | 4% |
| Progressive Northern Insurance Company | 4% |
| Progressive Southeastern Insurance Company | 3.8% |
| Progressive County Mutual | 3.7% |
| GEICO County Mutual Insurance Company | 3.4% |
| State | Leading insurer | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Texas | Progressive County Mutual | 31% |
| California | Universal Casualty Risk Retention Group, INC | 12.5% |
| Florida | Progressive Express Insurance Company | 40.2% |
| Illinois | Artisan & Truckers Casualty Company | 76.8% |
| Ohio | Progressive Preferred Insurance CO. | 73.3% |
| Pennsylvania | United Financial Casualty Company | 48.6% |
| Georgia | Progressive Mountain Insurance Company Of Ohio | 55.4% |
| North Carolina | Progressive Southeastern Insurance Company | 64.7% |
| New Jersey | Drive New Jersey Insurance Company | 40.8% |
| Indiana | Progressive Southeastern Insurance Company | 60.6% |
How we count
- New carrier
- A for-hire motor carrier docket (MC number) that FMCSA moved to "Granted", dated by the day of the grant. Brokers and freight forwarders are counted separately.
- Window
- The 30 days ending on the newest grant date in the data (inclusive), so a quiet weekend doesn't shrink the totals.
- Per business day
- Total grants on Monday to Friday dates in the window, divided by the number of those dates with grants.
- First-time
- The docket had no earlier active authority.
- Days to grant
- Calendar days from the day the carrier first applied for the docket to the day FMCSA granted it. First-time authorities only, values from 0 to 365 days.
- State
- The physical business address the carrier registered with FMCSA.
- One truck
- One power unit (truck or tractor) on the carrier's FMCSA registration.
- Insurer
- The insurer on the carrier's latest BMC-91 or BMC-91X liability filing. Shares are of all new carriers, including those with no filing yet.
- Equipment
- Inferred from the cargo classes the carrier registered. One carrier can count toward several types.
This report is frozen: later corrections get a dated note instead of silently changing the numbers. Cite as: Rookiefeed, "New Trucking Authority Report: October 2026," rookiefeed.com/reports/2026-10. Aggregate figures are free to reuse with a link under CC BY 4.0. Today's rolling numbers are on the stats page.
Want the carriers themselves?
Rookiefeed sends every new authority by 7am Central with the owner's name, phone, email, fleet size, equipment and insurer, as a CSV.