Long haul trucking is a major U.S. freight activity, but the available national statistics usually measure broader regulated-carrier, large-truck or heavy-driver populations. The figures below therefore state their population, period and limitations explicitly.
Key Long Haul Trucking Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2023, 766,647 active U.S. carriers had a USDOT number.
- In 2023, U.S. carriers reported 5,262,891 power units.
- In 2023, U.S. carriers reported 3,838,145 CDL drivers.
- In 2023, U.S. carriers reported 5,624,624 total drivers.
- In 2023, 2,909,709 driver inspections covered U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, the driver out-of-service rate was 6.4% for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 839,638 Level I full inspections were recorded for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 1,057,511 Level II walk-around inspections were recorded for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 593,547 traffic-enforcement inspections were recorded for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 1,131,283 total driver violations were recorded by FMCSA for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 222,041 driver out-of-service violations were recorded for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 336,623 inoperable-required-lamp vehicle violations were recorded for U.S. large trucks and buses.
- In 2023, 12,329 carrier investigations were conducted among U.S. regulated carriers.
- In 2023, 716,558 regulated carriers had no safety rating.
- In 2023, 58,551 new-entrant safety audits were conducted in the United States.
- In 2023, the new-entrant safety-audit pass rate was 91.30%.
- In 2022, large trucks were involved in 5,476 fatal roadway crashes in the United States.
- In May 2024, 2,070,480 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were employed in the United States.
- In May 2024, mean annual pay was $58,400 for U.S. heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
- In May 2025, the median annual wage was $58,640 for U.S. heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers.
Contents
- Long haul trucking scale, carriers and drivers
- Long haul trucking inspections and out-of-service trends
- Truck driver violations and enforcement
- Carrier investigations, safety ratings and new entrants
- Large-truck crashes and fatalities
- Long-haul driver employment and pay
Long Haul Trucking Scale: Carriers, Power Units and Drivers
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 2023 carrier census provides the broadest scale measures in this dataset. It covers FMCSA-regulated carriers, not a separately identified long-haul-only population.
| Measure | Period | U.S. count |
|---|---|---|
| Active carriers with a USDOT number | 2023 | 766,647 |
| Power units | 2023 | 5,262,891 |
| CDL drivers | 2023 | 3,838,145 |
| Total drivers | 2023 | 5,624,624 |
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
Power units are not identical to long-haul tractors, and the CDL and total-driver counts include regulated motor-carrier operations beyond long-haul routes. The carrier census uses a December 29, 2023 snapshot.
FMCSA also listed 13,597 safety inspectors in 2019, 12,782 in 2020, 12,746 in 2021, 12,604 in 2022 and 13,564 in 2023. These are personnel counts, and not all listed personnel were assigned full-time to inspections.
Long Haul Trucking Inspection and Out-of-Service Trends
Inspection activity fell in 2020 and then rose through 2023. The series covers U.S. large trucks and buses, includes federal and state inspections, and comes from MCMIS snapshots dated January 26, 2024.
| Year | Driver inspections | Driver OOS rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3,355,104 | 5.1% |
| 2020 | 2,471,877 | 5.2% |
| 2021 | 2,770,826 | 6.1% |
| 2022 | 2,886,281 | 6.9% |
| 2023 | 2,909,709 | 6.4% |
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
A driver out-of-service rate represents inspections with at least one out-of-service violation. It is not a crash probability or a long-haul-only safety rate.
FMCSA recorded 1,070,216 Level I full inspections in 2019 and 839,638 in 2023. Level II walk-around inspections totaled 1,208,788 in 2019 and 1,057,511 in 2023; both inspection categories include large trucks and buses.
Truck Driver Violations and Enforcement Data
Traffic-enforcement inspections also show a dip in 2020 followed by recovery. The counts below refer to U.S. large trucks and buses, and a traffic-enforcement violation is one cited from a traffic-enforcement inspection.
| Year | Traffic-enforcement inspections |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 590,860 |
| 2020 | 492,564 |
| 2021 | 550,119 |
| 2022 | 574,068 |
| 2023 | 593,547 |
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
In 2023, FMCSA recorded 1,131,283 total driver violations and 222,041 driver out-of-service violations. OOS violations are violation events, not unique drivers.
The most frequent named driver violations in the supplied 2023 data were failure to obey a traffic-control device, recorded 66,842 times, and speeding 6–10 miles per hour over the limit, recorded 63,085 times. These are violation-code frequencies, not crash counts.
Inoperable required lamps were recorded 336,623 times as vehicle violations in 2023. That figure is a violation-code frequency, not a count of vehicles or crashes.
Carrier Investigations, Safety Ratings and New Entrants
FMCSA conducted 13,040 carrier investigations in 2019, 11,460 in 2020, 12,342 in 2021, 12,518 in 2022 and 12,329 in 2023. These investigations cover regulated carriers and are not limited to long-haul freight carriers.
The 2023 safety-rating distribution requires care because a carrier must receive a compliance review or comprehensive onsite investigation to receive a rating. The no-rating category is not equivalent to satisfactory, conditional or unsatisfactory performance.
| 2023 safety-rating status | Regulated carriers |
|---|---|
| Satisfactory | 32,490 |
| Conditional | 11,618 |
| Unsatisfactory | 1,015 |
| No safety rating | 716,558 |
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
New-entrant safety audits totaled 40,277 in 2019 and 58,551 in 2023. New entrants are carriers applying for a USDOT number for interstate or intrastate hazardous-material operations, and they remain in the program until passing the audit and being in business for 18 months.
The new-entrant safety-audit pass rate was 88.20% in 2019 and 91.30% in 2023. This pass rate applies to the safety-audit program, not to all carrier inspections.
Large-Truck Crash and Fatality Statistics
FMCSA reported 39,221 fatal roadway crashes across U.S. roadways in 2022. Large trucks were involved in 5,476 fatal crashes, representing 14.0% of the national fatal-crash total.
Source: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Pocket Guide to Large Truck and Bus Statistics 2024.
“Involved” describes participation in the crash and does not assign fault. The FMCSA table concerns large trucks rather than long-haul-only trucks, and the 14.0% share is not a per-mile or per-trip risk rate.
These figures are outcomes at the roadway-crash level, while inspection and violation statistics measure enforcement activity. They should therefore be read as different indicators rather than combined into a single long-haul safety measure.
Long-Haul Truck Driver Employment and Pay Data
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates cover occupation 53-3032, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers. This occupation includes more than long-haul routes, so the figures are occupation-level estimates rather than a route-length-specific survey.
| Measure | Period | U.S. estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Employment, heavy and tractor-trailer drivers | May 2024 | 2,070,480 |
| Mean hourly wage | May 2024 | $28.08 |
| Median hourly wage | May 2024 | $27.62 |
| Mean annual wage | May 2024 | $58,400 |
Source: Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2025.
For comparison, the broader driver/sales workers and truck drivers occupation employed 3,482,310 people in May 2024, while light truck drivers numbered 994,410. Neither comparison figure should be treated as long-haul heavy-truck employment.
The same BLS source reports May 2025 wage percentiles for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers: the median annual wage was $58,640, the lowest-paid 10% earned less than $40,140, and the highest-paid 10% earned more than $79,380.
The May 2025 wage release is later than most FMCSA measures in this overview. May 2024 OEWS estimates and May 2025 Occupational Outlook Handbook wage figures should therefore be kept distinct rather than presented as one period.