Power-unit counting methodology
Method A: the latest MCS-150. Method B: the twelve-month measuring period. Definitions and edge cases.
Revised
01Method A — latest MCS-150
The power-unit figure from the most recent MCS-150 or MCSA-1 filing. Default, and correct for most operations.
02Method B — twelve-month measuring period
Power units operated during July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025. Applicable where the fleet has changed materially since the last MCS-150 was filed.
03Definitions
- Power unit
- A self-propelled vehicle: truck, tractor or bus. Counted once per registration year regardless of trailer movements.
- Excluded
- Trailers, chassis and other towed equipment.
- Long-term leased units
- Counted by the party the lease makes responsible. Counted once between lessor and lessee, not by both.
04Zero counts
Permitted for operations with no power units, and for carriers that operated none during the measuring period.
The new-operation exception
A USDOT registration dated after the measuring period closed cannot use that period to report zero: there was no period during which the operation existed to run nothing. Method A applies instead.
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