I Can’t Find Power Only Loads

Power only freight concentrates in a handful of networks and shipper programmes rather than being spread across open load boards. If you’re searching general boards for it, you’re looking in the wrong place more than you’re looking at a thin market.

Where it actually lives

Drop-and-hook programmes run by large shippers and 3PLs, usually requiring onboarding rather than a booking.

Trailer pool networks, where the trailer belongs to the network and you supply the tractor.

Brokers with dedicated power-only desks; not all of them have one.

The common thread is that access is granted rather than searched. Getting into two or three programmes changes the availability picture entirely.

What to check before committing

• Trailer condition and liability. Who’s responsible if the trailer you were given has a problem? Get this in writing.
• Detention on the trailer, not just the load. Drop-and-hook programmes have their own rules.
• Where you’re expected to leave it. An empty repositioning requirement can quietly consume the margin.
• Insurance implications of hauling equipment you don’t own.

The economics are different

Power only usually pays less per mile than pulling your own trailer, because you’re not supplying the trailer. Whether that’s good depends on your trailer costs, utilisation and maintenance exposure.

Run the comparison properly: rate per mile is lower, but so is your capital and maintenance burden. For some operations it’s clearly better and for others it isn’t, and the answer isn’t obvious without the numbers.

Where Hey Bubba! fits

Hey Bubba! is an AI back-office automation platform for fleets. It searches across connected load boards and broker networks continuously and screens on net revenue per mile, including any repositioning the programme requires, which is where power-only economics usually go wrong.

See how load search works

Related

• I can’t find a good load
• Is this load worth taking?