Authority Trends Analysis

Analysis

· as of April 17, 2026

The most unusual feature of this dataset is not the prolonged contraction in operating authority grants -- that pattern has been visible since mid-2022 -- but the February 2026 revocation figure of 831, which is the lowest monthly total in the entire 60-month series and sits far below the surrounding months, where revocations have typically ranged from 5,000 to nearly 8,000. The March 2026 revocation count is recorded as zero. Both figures should be treated as provisional or potentially affected by reporting lags rather than as evidence of a policy shift, and users comparing recent months to earlier periods should account for this when drawing conclusions.

Setting aside those two months, the broader trend is one of sustained contraction. Total grants over the trailing 12 months reached 61,448, up 4.3% from 58,942 in the prior 12-month period, but total revocations over the trailing 12 months came to 67,871, meaning the market shed more authority than it added for the second consecutive annual period. In the first quarter of 2026 (January through March), total grants were 12,899, compared to 15,410 in the most recent prior quarter tracked, a quarter-over-quarter decline of roughly 16%, though again the data-completeness caveat applies to March 2026.

Authority types have diverged meaningfully. Common authority dominates the volume -- 55,816 of the 61,448 grants in the trailing 12 months, or about 91% -- while contract authority contributed only 1,700 grants over the same span. Contract authority has recorded negative net changes in virtually every month since mid-2021, and broker authority, which held positive net figures through most of 2021 and 2022, turned consistently negative from mid-2023 onward. This divergence is consistent with a freight market that contracted sharply from a 2021 peak, with smaller or newer carriers -- who disproportionately seek common authority -- facing elevated exit pressure while established contract and broker relationships also declined.

Across the full 60 months covered, total grants reached approximately 368,254 against 327,073 revocations, yielding a cumulative net of roughly 41,181 authorities -- but virtually all of that net accumulation occurred in 2021 and early 2022, before the correction began.