California has 329,314 active motor carriers registered with FMCSA, the 1st most in the country. The largest share is based in Los Angeles. About 54% are single-truck operations (close to the national average), and 13% hold active for-hire authority (close to the national average).
New carriers in California
4,172 new USDOT numbers in California were registered in the last 90 days, 1.3% of the state's active carriers (a lower rate than the national 1.8%). New authorities aren't a problem in themselves, since every carrier starts somewhere, but many freight-fraud schemes use authorities only weeks old, so brokers often apply extra checks to them.
Risk signals in California's carrier records
| Signal (active carriers) | Carriers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-service order in effect | 1,109 | 0.34% |
| Revocation pending | 2,394 | 0.73% |
| For-hire authority, no liability insurance on file | 485 | 0.15% |
| Phone shared with other carriers | 9,030 | 2.74% |
| Email shared with other carriers | 4,323 | 1.31% |
| MCS-150 more than two years old | 78,645 | 23.9% |
California has 34 out-of-service orders in effect per 10,000 active carriers, below the national rate of 64. These are signals to look into, not verdicts about any company.
Fleet sizes
| Power units | Carriers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 power unit | 178,717 | 54.3% |
| 2 to 5 | 50,308 | 15.3% |
| 6 to 20 | 13,224 | 4.0% |
| 21 or more | 4,347 | 1.3% |
| None reported | 82,718 | 25.1% |
Cities with the most carriers
| City | Active carriers |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 18,473 |
| Fresno | 9,118 |
| Bakersfield | 8,757 |
| Sacramento | 7,155 |
| San Diego | 7,046 |
| San Jose | 5,225 |
| Fontana | 4,546 |
| Riverside | 4,459 |
| Stockton | 4,178 |
| Long Beach | 3,345 |
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Frequently asked questions
How many trucking companies are in California?
As of 2026-11-09, FMCSA's census lists 329,314 active USDOT-registered motor carriers with a physical address in California, the 1st most of any state. 42,976 of them hold active for-hire operating authority (an MC number).
How many new trucking companies started in California recently?
4,172 USDOT numbers based in California were added in the last 90 days, including 1,024 in the last 30 days. That ranks 2nd among states for new registrations.
How do I check a California carrier before booking a load?
Confirm the USDOT number is active, the operating authority is active with liability insurance on file, there is no out-of-service order or pending revocation, and the phone number on FMCSA's record matches the person you're dealing with. You can run all of these checks at once with the free CarrierTell lookup.