M-36 is maintained by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) like other state highways in Michigan. As a part of these maintenance responsibilities, the department tracks the volume of traffic that uses the roadways under its jurisdiction. These volumes are expressed using a metric called annual average daily traffic, which is a statistical calculation of the average daily number of vehicles on a segment of roadway. MDOT's surveys in 2010 showed that the highest traffic levels along M-36 were the 15,226 vehicles daily in Mason; the lowest count was 657 vehicles per day east of the M-52 concurrency. No section of M-36 has been listed on the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.