Power only trucking companies and carrier programs

What a power only carrier program is

A trailer pool only makes money when its trailers move. Large carriers, brokers and shippers that own thousands of trailers don't want to own a tractor for every one of them, so they build programs that let outside carriers pull their trailers. The program usually includes:

• An app or portal where approved carriers search and book the program's loads.
• Trailer pools at shipper docks and drop yards, often preloaded for drop and hook.
• A trailer interchange agreement that sets your responsibility for the trailer while it is hooked.
• Published requirements for insurance, safety record and sometimes authority age.

You stay an independent carrier. You book under your own MC, and you can be approved on several programs at the same time.

Programs as each company describes them

These summaries come only from each company's own pages, checked October 2026. We are not affiliated with any of them, and this is not a ranking.

Other large carriers and brokers, including household names you will see in keyword lists like Swift or Landstar, also move freight in trailers that outside tractors pull. If a company does not publish a power only program page, we don't describe one here. Check the company's own carrier page before you trust a post or a forum claim.

The same goes for parcel networks. Posts offering "UPS power only loads" or "FedEx owner operator power only" work often come from third parties. Confirm any such program on the parcel company's official carrier or contractor pages before you sign anything.

Program requirements, in general

Requirements vary, but these show up again and again:

1. Active authority, often with a minimum age. Amazon Relay publishes 180 days; others don't publish one.
2. Insurance above the federal floor. The federal minimum for general freight is $750,000 in liability (49 CFR 387.9). Programs often ask for $1,000,000, plus cargo and trailer interchange coverage. Our power only insurance guide breaks down the coverages.
3. Safety record. Programs check your FMCSA safety rating and inspection history.
4. Tracking. The program's app or an ELD integration on every load.
5. Interchange paperwork. A signed agreement for that owner's trailers.

Lease-on vs own authority

There are two ways to pull a big company's trailers:

Leasing on is governed by federal leasing rules (49 CFR part 376), and the lease spells out pay, deductions and who is responsible for what. It suits drivers who want fewer moving parts. Running your own authority suits owners who want to choose their freight and build their own broker relationships. Neither is wrong; they are different businesses.

How to compare power only programs

Use criteria, not reputation:

• Pools near your base. Ask where the program's trailers sit. A program with great rates and no pools within 100 miles won't help.
• How loads are priced. Fixed price, bidding, or negotiated. Fixed prices are fast; negotiation can pay more on hard lanes.
• Deadhead and repositioning. Does the program pay or help with empty miles to its pools?
• Detention and trailer issues. What happens when the trailer isn't loaded on time, or has a flat?
• Payment terms. How fast they pay and what quick pay costs, if offered.
• Requirements you meet today. Start with programs you qualify for now and add others as your authority ages.

About reviews: searches like "J.B. Hunt power only reviews" turn up forum threads that range from glowing to furious, often years old. We don't publish ratings. Read recent experiences from carriers on your lanes, and weigh them against the criteria above. The same caution applies to "power only carriers needed" ads: they are recruiting, so check the program on the company's own site before you send documents.

Where an independent dispatcher fits

A program app shows you that program's freight. It doesn't compare it with the broker load that pays more, or line up the reload from a different program near your drop. That is where a dispatcher helps: watching the programs you are approved on alongside broker freight, and planning the week across all of them. That is how our power only dispatch service works. Fleets with several tractors get more from programs because they can commit capacity to a lane, which is the idea behind our power only fleet dispatch.

Start with the basics in what is power only trucking, read how to vet the broker side in power only brokers, and see how trailer-delivery moves differ in tow away vs load out. Before you accept any program load, check it in the power only load profit calculator.