--- title: "Authority Trends — FMCSA Data Hub | AlphaLoops" description: "Track new carrier authority grants and revocations over time across the US trucking industry. Broken down by common, contract, and broker authority types." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Dataset", "name": "US Trucking Authority Trends", "description": "Authority grants, revocations, and net change for FMCSA-registered motor carriers by authority type.", "url": "https://runalphaloops.com/data/authority-trends", "temporalCoverage": "2015/2026", "spatialCoverage": "United States", "creator": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "AlphaLoops", "url": "https://www.runalphaloops.com" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is FMCSA operating authority?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Operating authority is a grant from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that allows a company to operate as a for-hire motor carrier, broker, or freight forwarder in interstate commerce. There are three main types: common authority (general for-hire transport), contract authority (transport under specific agreements), and broker authority (arranging transport without operating trucks)." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between common, contract, and broker authority?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Common authority allows a carrier to haul freight for any shipper for compensation. Contract authority allows a carrier to haul under specific, ongoing agreements with particular shippers. Broker authority allows a company to arrange the transportation of freight by motor carriers without operating trucks themselves. A single company can hold multiple authority types." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do carriers get their authority revoked?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Common reasons include failure to maintain required insurance, failure to file required reports (like MCS-150 updates), serious safety violations, or voluntary revocation when a carrier ceases operations. Revocations can also result from fraud investigations or repeated compliance failures." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does \"net authority change\" mean?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Net authority change is the difference between new authorities granted and authorities revoked in a given period. A positive number means more authorities are being issued than revoked; a negative number means the market is contracting. Note that this counts individual authority grants, not unique carriers — one carrier may receive multiple authority types." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why did new authority grants drop recently?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The trucking industry has experienced a freight recession since mid-2022, with lower rates and reduced demand making it harder for new carriers to enter the market profitably. This has led to a significant decrease in new authority applications and a rise in revocations." } } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "name": "AlphaLoops", "url": "https://runalphaloops.com/" } ] --- [![](/lovable-uploads/AlphaLoops-Logo-2025_Black-Type_White-Background_3280x1024.png)](/) [Product](/product) [Solutions](/solutions) [ Insurance Commercial auto, MGAs, trucking insurance programs ](/solutions/insurance)[ Fleet Payments Fuel cards, expense cards, AP, driver pay ](/solutions/fleet-payments)[ TMS TMS sales, BD, and RevOps ](/solutions/tms)[ Broker Risk Fraud intelligence for brokers and 3PLs ](/solutions/broker-risk)[ Telematics Telematics, ELD, dashcam, and connected fleet sales ](/solutions/telematics) [All solutions →](/solutions) [Integrations](/integrations) [ Salesforce AppExchange managed package · push to Account, Lead, Contact ](/integrations/salesforce)[ HubSpot Managed app · push to Company and Contact with associations ](/integrations/hubspot)[ Microsoft Dynamics 365 Power Automate connector · push to Dataverse Account and Contact ](/integrations/dynamics)[ n8n Verified community node · AI agent workflows ](/integrations/n8n)[ MCP Server Hosted Model Context Protocol · Claude, Cursor, Windsurf ](/mcp) [All integrations →](/integrations) [Pricing](/pricing)[Research](https://research.runalphaloops.com)[What's New](/whats-new) [Log In](https://alphafreight.runalphaloops.com/login)[Book a Demo](/contact) 1. [Home](/) - [FMCSA Data Hub](/data) - Authority Trends # US Motor Carrier Authority Trends New FMCSA operating-authority grants and revocations over time — common, contract, and broker authority. Share [](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Falphaloop-beryl.vercel.app%2Fdata%2Fauthority-trends)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=US%20Motor%20Carrier%20Authority%20Trends%20%E2%80%94%20AlphaLoops%20FMCSA%20Data%20Hub&url=https%3A%2F%2Falphaloop-beryl.vercel.app%2Fdata%2Fauthority-trends)Copy This data is free to access. If you use it for research or media, we kindly ask that you cite AlphaLoops and link back to [runalphaloops.com/data](https://runalphaloops.com/data). Authority type: All TypesCommonContractBroker 360,104 Total Authorities Granted 326,195 Total Revocations 33,909 Net Change ### Authorities Granted Over Time By authority type (common, contract, broker) WeekMonthYear 1Y5Y10YAll Export - Common - Contract - Broker ### Authorities Revoked Over Time By authority type (common, contract, broker) WeekMonthYear 1Y5Y10YAll - Common - Contract - Broker ### Net Authority Change Grants minus revocations WeekMonthYear 1Y5Y10YAll ## Analysis · as of June 15, 2026 [Previous analyses](/data/authority-trends/archive) ### Highlights - Net authority additions turned negative in December 2022 and have remained predominantly negative through early 2026, a streak of over three years. - Total grants fell from 9,808 in August 2021 to 2,834 in January 2026, a decline of roughly 71% over that span. - Contract authority has posted negative net changes every single month since August 2021, with revocations consistently outpacing grants. - February and March 2026 revocation counts dropped to 832 and 1 respectively, versus a trailing norm above 6,000 per month, indicating a data processing lag or reporting gap. - Over the full 59-month window, 360,104 authorities were granted against 326,195 revocations, yielding a cumulative net of 33,909. The most anomalous feature in this dataset is not the multi-year contraction in net authority additions but the near-complete collapse of recorded revocations in March and April 2026, when total revocations fell to 1 and 0 respectively, against a monthly average above 6,000 for the preceding two years. May 2026 similarly shows zero revocations. These figures almost certainly reflect a reporting or processing lag in FMCSA records rather than an actual halt in enforcement activity, and any trend analysis covering those months should be treated with caution until the data is restated. Setting aside those incomplete months, the underlying pattern is a sustained contraction in carrier entry. Total monthly grants peaked around 10,333 in March 2022 and had declined to 4,088 by January 2026, a drop of roughly 60% over four years. Net authority additions turned negative in December 2022 and have posted a negative result in the large majority of months since, with the worst single month being January 2024 at negative 3,747. The trailing 12-month grant total of 59,676 is nearly unchanged from the prior 12-month period at 59,838, a year-over-year change of negative 0.3%, suggesting the rate of decline in new entries has flattened even as revocations remain elevated. The composition of that activity differs by authority type. Common authority dominates volume, accounting for roughly 91% of trailing 12-month grants at 54,181, but it also absorbs the bulk of revocations. Contract authority is the weakest segment: grants have hovered between roughly 60 and 200 per month throughout the period and have not produced a positive net month since July 2021. Broker authority showed more resilience through mid-2022 but turned consistently negative through 2023 and 2024 before showing tentative stabilization in late 2025 and early 2026. This pattern is consistent with a post-pandemic normalization in carrier formation following the outsized entry surge of 2020 and 2021, combined with a prolonged freight rate downcycle that likely reduced the economic incentive for new entrants and accelerated exit among marginal operators. Over the full 59 months covered, cumulative net additions total 33,909, a modest figure relative to the roughly 360,000 gross grants recorded in the same window. ### Key Statistics 360,104 Total operating authority grants July 2021 through May 2026 (59 months) 326,195 Total operating authority revocations July 2021 through May 2026 (59 months) 33,909 Cumulative net authority change (grants minus revocations) July 2021 through May 2026 (59 months) 59,676 Total authority grants Trailing 12 months through May 2026 \-0.3% Year-over-year change in total authority grants Trailing 12 months vs. prior 12 months 54,181 Common authority grants (approximately 91% of trailing 12-month total grants) Trailing 12 months through May 2026 1,618 Contract authority grants Trailing 12 months through May 2026 3,877 Broker authority grants Trailing 12 months through May 2026 \-3,747 Lowest single-month net authority change recorded in the dataset January 2024 10,333 Highest single-month total authority grants recorded in the dataset March 2022 2,834 Total authority grants (lowest month in dataset outside incomplete reporting months) January 2026 54,757 Total authority revocations Trailing 12 months through May 2026 Cite this data AlphaLoops. (2026). Authority Trends — FMCSA Data Hub. Retrieved 2026-06-15 from https://runalphaloops.com/data/authority-trends. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is FMCSA operating authority? ### What is the difference between common, contract, and broker authority? ### Why do carriers get their authority revoked? ### What does "net authority change" mean? ### Why did new authority grants drop recently? ## Want this data for your GTM team? AlphaLoops provides carrier intelligence to help freight brokers, insurers, and technology companies identify and qualify motor carriers. [Start Free Trial](https://alphafreight.runalphaloops.com/login?mode=signup)[Request Demo](/contact) ![AlphaLoops](/lovable-uploads/AlphaLoops-Logo-2025_Black-Type_White-Background_3280x1024.png) Fleet intelligence for go-to-market teams in transportation. 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