New Carrier Authorities Are Surging in Surprising Places

Yahoo

2 days ago

If you think you know where new trucking companies are planting roots, think again.
Yes, Texas and California still lead the nation in raw numbers of new MCs granted. But something very different is happening when you zoom in. Quiet ZIP codes like 93722 (Fresno, CA) and 78045 (Laredo, TX) are quietly leading the nation in new authority issuances. And it's not random; it's not just about opportunity.It's about the way America's trucking landscape is being reshaped—zip code by zip code—by a complex combination of regulation loopholes, international labor dynamics, and a post-pandemic market still struggling to find its footing.
Using verified authority history data from SearchCarriers.com, it's time to pull the curtain back. It isn't just about where the growth is, it's about what kind of growth we're seeing—and whether current systems are equipped to handle it.So far this year, 26,394 new motor carrier authorities have been granted according to FMCSA data, compiled via SearchCarriers.com. Just in May, here's how the top 10 states stack up:
California – 694
Texas – 664
Florida – 404
Illinois – 288
Pennsylvania – 259
Ohio – 252
Georgia – 249
North Carolina – 192
New Jersey – 175
Indiana – 148
Nothing shocking there—until you get below the state line.
When we narrowed the lens, the picture changed. These were the top ZIP codes for MCs granted in May 2025:
These ZIPs represent more than numbers—they reflect nodes in a freight network that's under growing scrutiny.
Fresno now leads the nation in MCs granted last month. Being the fifth largest city in California, at first glance, it looks like a win for entrepreneurial trucking. The Central Valley has long been home to a thriving Punjabi trucking community—deeply experienced, asset-based, and critical to ag and reefer freight.But beneath that foundation is a rising pattern of 'one and done' authorities. Many of these MCs are linked to short-lived LLCs. They file, run for a few months under one DOT number, then vanish—sometimes popping back up days later under a different MC. The phenomenon is called 'ghost fleeting' and leads us to question how many of these fleets we are missing.
Laredo shows up twice in the top 10 ZIPs. As the largest land port between the U.S. and Mexico, that's not surprising. But multiple FreightWaves investigations have uncovered deeper issues:
Carriers domiciled in Laredo have been linked to misuse of B-1 visa drivers—Mexican nationals who are only permitted to cross the border but are often found running domestic freight.
FMCSA has limited enforcement powers on visa status, leaving a massive gap in oversight.
The labor cost advantage is massive—so large, in fact, that compliant U.S. carriers are being undercut in their own backyard.
And now, with two dozen new MCs popping up in just one city last month, the oversight burden is growing faster than enforcement can keep up.
These ZIPs are hotspots for immigrant-led companies—many with strong business acumen and solid ties to major reefer shippers. But just like Fresno, the risk is not with the community—it's with the system failing to verify who's legitimate and who's laundering safety scores through shell MCs.
In many cases, FMCSA isn't auditing these carriers until months past the 18-month new entrant window, if at all.
According to the FMCSA Pocket Guide and analysis of audit completion records:
2021: 119,872 MCs were granted. Only 45% (54,149) received their required safety audit.
2022: 108,019 MCs were granted. Just 44% (47,404) were audited.
That means nearly 60% of new entrants were operating without a formal FMCSA review during the most critical time in their company's lifecycle.
And if we believe the 2025 numbers are on pace, we're looking at another 15,000+ carriers potentially slipping through the cracks this year alone.
FMCSA's proposed English Language Proficiency (ELP) crackdowns are looming. Once in place, carriers employing drivers who can't meet minimum language requirements face being flagged or revoked. But the rule isn't law yet—and that delay is giving rise to a wave of 'beat the buzzer' authority filings.
The mindset is 'start the company now. Get on the road. Worry about the rules later.'
Take Texas as an example.
Recently, we saw a federal crackdown on a Texas-based commercial license fraud ring that issued hundreds of CDLs to unqualified applicants. Several of those licenses were tied to carriers based in Houston (77089) and surrounding ZIPs.
Many of those licenses were sold to out-of-state drivers who listed Texas addresses to avoid stricter home-state requirements.
It's not theoretical. It's happening, and it's reshaping who's actually behind the wheel in parts of the country.
Stakeholders from every corner of the trucking ecosystem—from safety consultants to driver schools—have sounded the alarm about a growing underground labor market. U.S. carriers are increasingly contracting foreign drivers through shady channels, especially in places like Laredo, TX and San Diego, CA.
And if you think they're just running a few loads, think again. Some are running national lanes under assumed identities, rented MC numbers, or safety ratings they didn't earn.
It depends who you are.
If you're a broker or shipper, are you onboarding carriers from ZIPs like 78045 or 93722 without really looking deeper into your vetting processes?
If you're a new MC, are you aware that simply having a DOT number isn't enough? Do you know if your driver isn't qualified, or your audit never happens, you're not only risking your business—you're risking criminal liability?
If you're the FMCSA, is your system agile enough to keep up with an industry that's learning how to beat your processes faster than you can write rules? Technology may be moving faster than you can keep up.
Right now, it's easier to get authority than to get audited, and it's easier to find a loophole than to find a Level 1 inspection.
In May 2025, California (694) and Texas (664) topped the nation in new Motor Carrier (MC) authority grants, but accident data reveals a contrasting storyline—one that raises red flags as new entrants surge past compliance capacity.
Fatal crashes involving large trucks jumped 18% from 4,821 in 2020 to 5,700 in 2021, while injury crashes increased 11% over the same period .
Property damage-only crashes surged 25%, climbing from 322K to 401K in that timeframe.
FMCSA's analysis shows crash rates for new entrants nearly tripled, rising from 1.3% (in the 2018 cohort) to 3.5% (by 2021).
We're not just seeing more carriers being granted authority; we're seeing more crashes involving the ones with newer authorities. The acceleration of entries—especially in ZIP codes like Fresno (93722) and Laredo (78045)—is not matched by audit or enforcement capacity. The result is a growing pipeline of high-risk drivers and unvetted carriers entering service, operating before infrastructure can catch up.
This isn't about fear-mongering. This is about facing facts.
The numbers from the FMCSA aren't just a heatmap of new businesses—they're a warning sign. A red flag. A signal that the surge in MCs may be lapping our ability to track, audit, or even understand who's really in the cab.
The people pointing this out aren't against growth, we're against blind growth.
We're not questioning the dream. We're questioning the foundation it's being built on.
At the end of the day, the fastest-growing ZIP codes for new carriers are the same ones named in federal indictments, major accidents, and cross-border enforcement loopholes—we owe it to the entire industry to slow down and look closer.
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