Name: New Trucking Authority Report - Monthly FMCSA New Carrier Data
Creator: NTIB Finance & Consulting
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

7,899

New for-hire authorities in August (through Aug 27)

61%

Started with a single truck

95%

Started with 5 trucks or fewer

128,261

New authorities in the last 12 months

Monthly trend - new for-hire authorities

Aug 202510,817

Sep 202510,274

Oct 202510,286

Nov 20258,241

Dec 20258,546

Jan 202611,068

Feb 202610,921

Mar 202612,922

Apr 202612,389

May 202611,885

Jun 202611,949

Jul 202611,881

Aug 20267,899*

*August 2026 is partial (data pulled August 28). March 2026 was the strongest month of the year at 12,922 new authorities.

Top states - August 2026

Rank	State	New for-hire authorities	Share
1	Texas	1,167	14.8%
2	California	932	11.8%
3	Florida	795	10.1%
4	Georgia	393	5.0%
5	Illinois	323	4.1%
6	Pennsylvania	309	3.9%
7	Ohio	273	3.5%
8	North Carolina	271	3.4%
9	New Jersey	269	3.4%
10	New York	205	2.6%

Fleet size at authority grant - August 2026

Power units	Carriers	Share
1 truck	4,816	61.0%
2 trucks	1,975	25.0%
3 to 5 trucks	732	9.3%
6 or more	376	4.7%

What the numbers mean

Entry is steady despite the rate environment. Roughly 10,000 to 12,000 new for-hire carriers are still entering every month. The overwhelming majority are owner operators: six in ten start with exactly one truck.

The first 90 days decide most of them. New authorities wait 30 to 45 days for brokers and shippers to pay while fuel, insurance and truck payments run weekly. That cash gap, not freight rates, is what forces most early exits. It is also why most new carriers factor their first invoices - and why the factoring contract they sign in week one matters so much. Our factoring cost calculator shows what any quote really costs before signing.

Growth means equipment. A quarter of new entrants start with two trucks and many single-truck operators add a second within the first two years. Equipment financing for young authorities exists, but terms vary enormously with time in business and credit.

Running a new authority, or about to?

NTIB Finance & Consulting is a commercial finance brokerage working across 50+ lenders, including factors that take brand-new authorities with no minimum volume and equipment lenders that work with young companies. A quote review or a first conversation is free; if we place your financing, we charge a small fee at closing. We also help new carriers set up a proper accounting system in Xero from day one.

Check a factoring quote Email Mike Call / text 914.419.3059

Methodology

Source: FMCSA Motor Carrier Census (data.transportation.gov, dataset az4n-8mr2). Counts include carriers whose census record was added in the stated month with an operating classification of Authorized For Hire. State is the carrier's physical address state. Fleet size is power units reported at registration. Data pulled August 28, 2026; the current month is always partial. This page is updated monthly. Reuse permitted with attribution and a link to this page.