Power only
Power only is a trucking service in which the carrier supplies only the tractor and driver (the "power unit") to pull a trailer owned or leased by the shipper, broker or 3PL.
What is Power only?
In a normal truckload move the carrier brings its own tractor and trailer. In a power-only move the trailer is already there: a shipper’s drop-trailer pool, a leased trailer a broker controls, a loaded trailer waiting at a yard. The carrier hooks up, delivers, and drops the trailer where the customer wants it.
Shippers and brokers use power only to keep trailers under their own control while buying the tractor capacity on demand. It suits drop-and-hook programs, trailer repositioning, yard and shuttle work, and seasonal peaks where a shipper has more loaded trailers than drivers. For small carriers and owner-operators it means work without owning a trailer, or a way to fill a leg that would otherwise be deadhead miles.
Operationally, power only shifts attention from the load to the equipment. Someone has to know where each trailer is, who has it, when it was picked up and in what condition, and whether it came back empty or loaded. Trailer numbers belong on the rate confirmation and the bill of lading, and pickup and drop events should be captured with a time and location.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the trailer on a power-only load?
Not the carrier. The trailer belongs to, or is leased by, the shipper, the broker or a 3PL. The carrier provides the tractor and a driver and is responsible for the trailer while it is hooked up, as set out in the load agreement or a trailer interchange agreement.
What insurance does a power-only carrier need?
The standard auto liability and cargo coverage for its authority, and usually trailer interchange coverage for physical damage to a trailer it does not own. Brokers and shippers typically ask for proof of that coverage before tendering power-only freight.
Is power only the same as drop and hook?
They overlap but are not the same. Drop and hook describes how a load is handed over (the driver drops one trailer and hooks another instead of waiting for a live load). Power only describes what the carrier supplies (a tractor without a trailer). Many power-only loads are drop-and-hook moves.
See Power only in a real TMS
Transportial puts these concepts to work in one operational platform — planning, tracking, documents, and finance.