Power only trucking: how it works and pays

Power only takes the trailer out of your business. You bring the tractor, someone else brings the box. For an owner-operator that can mean less money tied up in equipment, fewer repair bills and faster turns at docks. It also means you live inside someone else's trailer network: where their trailers sit, when they're loaded and where they need to go next.

How power only works

YOUR TRACTOR + THEIR TRAILER. THE INTERCHANGE IS ON YOU

A typical power only load runs like this:

1. The trailer is ready. Often preloaded and sealed by the shipper at a yard or dock.
2. You hook it. Check the trailer before you leave: tires, lights, brakes, mud flaps, doors, seal number against the bill of lading.
3. You haul it to the receiver or a drop yard.
4. You drop it. Sometimes you pick up an empty or another loaded trailer for the next leg.
5. The paperwork closes. Seal intact, signed bill of lading, a trailer interchange record if the owner uses one.

Most power only freight is dry van, but reefer trailers, flatbeds and specialized equipment also move this way.

Who offers power only loads

• Shippers with their own trailers. Big manufacturers and retailers keep trailer pools at their plants and DCs.
• Brokers with trailer pools. Several large brokers and digital freight platforms now own or lease trailers and hire carriers to pull them.
• Asset carriers. Some large carriers hire outside tractors to move their trailers when their own trucks are short.
• Trailer leasing companies, which need trailers repositioned between yards.

Each program sets its own rules for authority age, insurance, safety record and equipment. Read the current terms before signing; they change.

Power only vs owning a trailer

The trade is control for cost. With your own trailer you can take any load it fits. With power only, you take what's in the network, but your fixed costs drop and drop and hook saves hours.

Trailer interchange insurance

When you pull a trailer you don't own, you're responsible for damage to it while it's in your care. Standard physical damage insurance covers your tractor, not their trailer. Trailer interchange coverage, or non-owned trailer physical damage coverage, fills that gap, and most programs require it. Ask your agent what limit each program needs. The trailer interchange insurance guide covers how it works and what it typically requires.

Is power only profitable?

There's no public national index for power only rates; brokers usually price them against dry van rates, often a little lower because you aren't supplying the trailer. For reference, DAT's national dry van spot average was $3.01 a mile with fuel in September 2026. The profit case rests on costs and time, not on higher rates.

SOURCE: DAT September 2026 release, Oct 13, 2026 (dry van, since power only has no separate public average). Checked Oct 21, 2026.

POWER ONLY WEEK, EXAMPLENO. 0154

EXAMPLE

Loaded trailers

5

Gross revenue (incl. 1 paid empty move)

$7,400

Loaded + empty miles

2,350 + 350

All-in rate

$2.74/mi

Fuel at 7 mpg, $6.29

$2,426

Trailer payment and repairs

$0

Hours waiting at docks

About 3

Left before tractor costs and pay$4,974

This EXAMPLE week pays less per mile than a typical van week would. It works anyway because there's no trailer payment, no trailer repair bill and only about three hours of dock time across five loads. The weak spot is the 350 empty miles between trailers. Run your own loads through the load profitability calculator with your real costs.

Pros and cons

Pros

• No trailer to buy, insure for physical damage or repair.
• Faster turns on drop and hook freight.
• Easier entry for a new owner-operator with a tractor and no trailer.
• Can mix with regular van loads if you later add a trailer.

Cons

• You go where the trailers are, which may not be where you want to be.
• Empty moves between trailers can be long and are not always paid.
• You don't control how the trailer was loaded or maintained.
• Rates are usually lower than with your own trailer.
• Some programs pay slower or hold back amounts for claims.

Checking a trailer you don't own

You're responsible for the trailer once you hook it, so check it before you leave the yard. Look at tires and tread, lights, air lines and gladhands, brakes, mud flaps, doors and seals, and registration and annual inspection paperwork. Photograph any damage and report it before you move. If the bill of lading weight looks wrong or the seal doesn't match, call before you roll; you can't see inside a sealed trailer, but an overweight ticket still goes to you.

What it means for the loads you book

• Where is the trailer, and is it ready? A trailer that isn't loaded yet is a live load in disguise.
• Where does it drop, and what's next? A trailer pool far from your next pickup means empty miles.
• Who pays for empty moves?
• What does the program require for insurance and authority?
• How fast do they pay, and do they hold back anything for claims?

More on finding and choosing these loads is in power only loads.

Dispatch for power only carriers

Power only weeks are won in the gaps: the empty miles between one trailer and the next. Our power only dispatching service books preloaded trailers and lines up each pickup near your last drop, so the tractor spends its time pulling freight. Every load is laid out for you first, you make the call, and the broker or program sends the rate con directly to you to sign.