Texas has 194,580 active motor carriers registered with FMCSA, the 2nd most in the country. The largest share is based in Houston. About 57% are single-truck operations (close to the national average), and 15% hold active for-hire authority (close to the national average).
New carriers in Texas
4,851 new USDOT numbers in Texas were registered in the last 90 days, 2.5% of the state's active carriers (a higher 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 Texas's carrier records
| Signal (active carriers) | Carriers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Out-of-service order in effect | 2,049 | 1.05% |
| Revocation pending | 1,456 | 0.75% |
| For-hire authority, no liability insurance on file | 410 | 0.21% |
| Phone shared with other carriers | 5,541 | 2.85% |
| Email shared with other carriers | 6,537 | 3.36% |
| MCS-150 more than two years old | 95,649 | 49.2% |
Texas has 105 out-of-service orders in effect per 10,000 active carriers, above 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 | 110,400 | 56.7% |
| 2 to 5 | 49,392 | 25.4% |
| 6 to 20 | 11,581 | 6.0% |
| 21 or more | 3,975 | 2.0% |
| None reported | 19,232 | 9.9% |
Cities with the most carriers
| City | Active carriers |
|---|---|
| Houston | 23,610 |
| Dallas | 8,128 |
| San Antonio | 7,173 |
| Laredo | 5,432 |
| Fort Worth | 5,147 |
| El Paso | 3,976 |
| Austin | 3,929 |
| Odessa | 3,771 |
| Katy | 3,333 |
| Midland | 2,994 |
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Frequently asked questions
How many trucking companies are in Texas?
As of 2026-11-09, FMCSA's census lists 194,580 active USDOT-registered motor carriers with a physical address in Texas, the 2nd most of any state. 30,151 of them hold active for-hire operating authority (an MC number).
How many new trucking companies started in Texas recently?
4,851 USDOT numbers based in Texas were added in the last 90 days, including 1,267 in the last 30 days. That ranks 1st among states for new registrations.
How do I check a Texas 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.