State trucking statistics

Texas Trucking Industry Statistics (2026)

Fleet size, operating authority, hazmat and new-entrant counts, out-of-service rates and crash totals for every FMCSA-registered motor carrier domiciled in Texas — counted directly from the federal record, with the population behind each figure stated next to it.

Aggregates refreshed Sep 1, 2026 from the daily FMCSA census, roadside-inspection and crash loads.

Fleet & operating authority

How large the Texas carrier population is, and how much of it can legally haul for hire.

Registered carriers
373,450

Every motor carrier with a Texas physical address in the current FMCSA registry snapshot.

Active carriers
191,302

Carriers whose FMCSA census record currently carries status code A (active).

With operating authority
36,395

Carriers with for-hire operating authority on file — the subset a broker can legally tender freight to.

Trucks in service
1,437,473

Sum of the SAFER power-unit count across the 324,516 carriers reporting a plausible fleet size; implausible round-thousand self-reports are excluded.

Hazmat carriers
11,235

Active carriers whose census record carries the FMCSA hazardous-materials indicator.

New carriers (12 mo)
18,940

Carriers whose first FMCSA registration date falls within the last 12 months.

Safety record — trailing 24 months

Roadside enforcement and crash outcomes for Texas-domiciled carriers over the same rolling window FMCSA publishes rates over.

Roadside inspections
642,066

Roadside inspections of Texas-domiciled carriers over the trailing 24 months — the window FMCSA publishes rates over.

Vehicle out-of-service rate
27.2%

Share of the 508,518 vehicle-level inspections (CVSA levels 1, 2, 5 and 6) that placed at least one vehicle out of service.

4.9 pp above the 22.26% CVSA national average.

Driver out-of-service rate
8.0%

Share of the 636,277 driver-level inspections (CVSA levels 1, 2, 3 and 6) that placed a driver out of service.

1.4 pp above the 6.67% CVSA national average.

Reportable crashes
25,865

FMCSA-reportable crashes involving Texas-domiciled carriers in the last 24 months.

Fatal crashes
853

Crashes in that 24-month window recorded with at least one fatality.

Injury crashes
10,623

Crashes in that 24-month window recorded with at least one injury.

How these rates are computed

Each out-of-service rate divides the inspections that put a unit out of service by the inspections capable of producing one: vehicle rates use CVSA levels 1, 2, 5 and 6, driver rates use levels 1, 2, 3 and 6. That is the population the published CVSA national averages are defined over, and it is the same rolling 24-month window and the same level definitions every carrier profile on this site is scored against.

Inspection records: Sep 1, 2024 – Aug 28, 2026. Crash records: Jan 3, 1989 – Aug 27, 2026 (307,330 all-time, 11,118 fatal).

Fleet-size distribution

Across the 324,516 Texas carriers that report a plausible fleet size.

1 truck
217,06766.9%
2–5 trucks
82,57725.4%
6–20 trucks
18,7995.8%
21–100 trucks
5,0361.6%
101+ trucks
1,0370.3%

Buckets use the SAFER power-unit figure. Carriers that report no fleet size, or a round-thousand self-report the plausibility clamp rejects, are excluded from the buckets and from their denominator rather than counted as zero.

Equipment mix

The most common primary equipment among the 31,521 Texas carriers with VIN-decoded trailer data.

Dry van
10,40833.0%
Flatbed
10,31432.7%
Dump
5,63717.9%
Grain / hopper
2,5568.1%
Tank
1,4544.6%

Equipment is inferred only from observed, VIN-decoded units, which covers a minority of the register — these shares describe the classified population, never all Texas carriers.

Sources & citation

Every number on this page is a count, a sum, or a ratio of two counts over public federal records.

Built from the FMCSA / MCMIS census, the L&I authority and insurance record, roadside-inspection results and the FMCSA crash file, refreshed daily. Nothing here is modelled, estimated, or generated: self-reported annual mileage is never aggregated, and a figure the record does not support is omitted rather than filled in.

Cite as “Vektor Carrier Intelligence, Texas trucking industry statistics, Sep 1, 2026”.

Aggregates cover carriers whose FMCSA physical address is in Texas; a carrier is counted in its domicile state regardless of where it operates or where an inspection took place. Out-of-service rates and crash counts are the federal record, not an FMCSA safety rating. Verify authority and insurance before tendering freight.