HaulAgricultural & Grain Hauling Companies
176,782 active U.S. motor carriers (8% of all active carriers) report grain, feed & hay as a cargo type in the FMCSA Company Census. Grain, feed and hay carriers move bulk agricultural commodities — a segment concentrated in farm states and built on small, often seasonal operations that benefit from agricultural hours-of-service exemptions.
The headline numbers
Agricultural hauling is overwhelmingly small-fleet and intrastate, the signature of farm-region trucking that moves crops to local elevators and processors.
Where agricultural & grain hauling companies are based
Each state is shaded by the number of active carriers reporting this cargo type, from light (fewer) to dark (more), based on each carrier’s registered physical-address state. The smallest Northeast states and DC are labeled in the margin so their counts stay readable.
Show data table
| State | Carriers |
|---|---|
| Texas | 12,010 |
| Wisconsin | 11,194 |
| Iowa | 10,454 |
| Illinois | 10,174 |
| Minnesota | 10,133 |
| Michigan | 9,637 |
| Nebraska | 9,540 |
| New York | 5,954 |
| Washington | 5,732 |
| Kentucky | 5,522 |
| Oregon | 5,196 |
| Colorado | 5,126 |
Fleet size: who actually hauls this freight
91.6% of these carriers run six trucks or fewer and just 0.3% run a hundred or more — the fleet shape that determines how capacity and pricing behave in this segment.
Interstate vs. intrastate operation
37.2% operate interstate (across state lines, the trigger for federal operating authority) and 62.8% operate intrastate. Confirm the carrier's authority and insurance are active; agricultural exemptions affect operating rules but not the requirement to be properly registered.
Vet a specific carrier
These are aggregate counts. To check a single company, look it up by name or USDOT number, read our guide to vetting a carrier before you book, and learn how to spot double-brokering and carrier fraud. Compare freight types on the cargo-type pillar or see the national industry statistics.
Frequently asked questions
- How many grain and agricultural trucking companies are there?
- This page shows the current count of active carriers that flag grain, feed and hay in the FMCSA Company Census.
- Which state has the most agricultural & grain hauling companies?
- Texas leads with 12,010 active carriers reporting this cargo type, based on each carrier's registered physical-address state. The full state breakdown is on this page.
- Where does this data come from?
- The public FMCSA Company Census (dataset az4n-8mr2), filtered to active carriers that report this cargo-classification flag and grouped by registered state, fleet size, operation type and hazmat indicator. It refreshes automatically as the federal data updates.