Power only rates per mile: what they pay and how to price them

"What does power only pay?" is one of the most common questions carriers ask, and one of the hardest to answer with a single number. Unlike dry van, there's no widely published national power only rate. This guide explains how power only rates relate to van rates, what moves them, and how to price a load so it pays your truck.

Power only rates vs dry van rates

Power only freight is mostly van freight in someone else's trailer. So the van market for the same lane is the best public reference. DAT reported the national dry van spot linehaul rate at $2.19 a mile in August 2026, excluding fuel, against $2.41 for contract van freight, and weekly spot averages of $2.17 to $2.21 a mile through September 2026.

Power only usually prices a little below van for the same lane, because the shipper or broker is supplying the trailer. How far below depends on the program, the lane and how much waiting is involved. Drop and hook freight with fast yards can match van rates on a per-hour basis even when the per-mile rate is lower.

What moves a power only rate

Counting yard deadhead

The trap in power only pricing is the miles that aren't on the rate con. A load may say 600 miles, but your truck drives to the yard to hook, then from the receiver to the next yard. Those miles cost fuel and hours either way.

Load pays $1,700 for 600 loaded miles

$2.83/mi loaded

40 mi to the yard + 70 mi after the drop

110 empty mi

All-in: $1,700 ÷ 710 mi

$2.39/mi

After a 5% dispatch fee

$2.27/mi

Rate to compare with your cost$2.39/mi

The loaded rate looks strong. The all-in rate is what has to beat your cost per mile. Check yours with the rate per mile calculator.

How to price a power only load

1. Know your cost per mile with no trailer costs in it: tractor payment, insurance, fuel, maintenance, plus interchange coverage.
2. Add the margin you need per mile.
3. Count all the miles: yard to pickup, loaded, drop to next yard.
4. Check the fuel terms. With U.S. diesel averaging $6.382 a gallon for the week of September 28, 2026, a rate quoted all-in carries a lot of fuel cost inside it.
5. Price waiting. Ask how long check-in usually takes at that yard, and whether detention applies.
6. Compare with the van rate for the lane as a sanity check, not as the answer.

Two offers, same day

EXAMPLE: two power only offers out of the same drop, with your all-in cost at $1.95 a mile.

Offer A pays $200 more and leaves less, because of 100 extra empty miles. It also takes about two more hours, which may decide whether you make the next appointment.

Reading a power only rate offer

Before you accept, get answers to these, in writing where it matters:

• Is the rate all-in or linehaul plus fuel surcharge?
• Where exactly is the trailer, and how long does that yard usually take to check in?
• Is the trailer loaded and sealed, or live load?
• Does detention apply, and from when?
• Who pays if the trailer has a flat or a light out at the hook?
• Is there a return or empty move after the drop, and does it pay?

Clear answers usually mean a well-run program. Vague ones usually mean waiting, and waiting is the cost that never shows up on the rate con. Keep notes on every yard and program you run for: check-in times, how often trailers have problems at the hook, and whether detention gets paid. After a month, those notes tell you more about real power only rates on your lanes than any market average can.

Where power only pays well

• Dense pool networks: where hooks and drops sit close together, all-in rates climb because empty miles shrink.
• Dedicated program lanes: steady volume often pays a little less per mile but keeps the truck busy every day.
• Reefer and specialized trailers: more responsibility usually means a better rate.
• Seasonal surges: when shippers run short on drivers, outside power gets paid more.

Where it doesn't

• Long deadhead to sparse yards.
• Unpaid empty repositioning.
• Programs with slow gates and no detention.
• Lanes where the drop city has few outbound trailers, leaving you to drive empty to the next market.
• Loads where the trailer needs repairs before it can roll, with no pay for the wait.

Power only vs owning a trailer

A lower rate per mile can still mean more profit if your costs are lower, since there's no trailer payment or trailer repairs. Whether that's true for your lanes depends on how much van freight pays nearby, how far the pools are, and what a trailer would cost you. The full comparison, with your own numbers, is in power only vs owning trailers. Trailer types you'll pull are covered in types of truck trailers and power only trailer, and the companies that run programs in power only trucking companies.

The bottom line

Use van market data as a reference, price from your own cost per mile, and count every empty mile. A power only rate that looks low per loaded mile can be a good load if the yards line up; one that looks high can lose money after the deadhead.