Power units
Power units are the vehicles with engines: straight trucks and truck tractors. Trailers are counted separately and are not power units. When the federal record shows a carrier with 12 power units, it is reporting the count from the carrier's most recent MCS-150 filing.
Self-reported, and it matters
The power-unit count is what the carrier says about itself, refiled at least every two years. FMCSA also uses it in its safety measurement: the Crash Indicator and Unsafe Driving measures are scaled by power units (adjusted for reported mileage where FMCSA has it), so a wrong fleet size distorts those results. fleetfax's own crash rate uses reported miles, not power units.
Claimed vs observed
The roadside record is the reality check. Each inspection names the actual vehicles inspected, so over time the public data shows how many distinct trucks have been seen on the road for a carrier. fleetfax shows the self-reported count as what the carrier filed on its MCS-150, not as ground truth. See the age of power units observed nationwide →
fleetfax reads public FMCSA data and is not affiliated with FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This page explains terminology; it is not legal advice.
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