JB Hunt - Power Only program

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by Hanadarko, Dec 17, 2010.

  1. G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    JB Hunt approached me with this program a couple of years ago. At the time I was told that they paid the carrier 80% of the line haul. When I got the contract in very small print it said that they only pay 70%. In addition they also wanted me to pay to insure their trailers for $25,000 (Trailer cartage insurance) and carry $1 million general liability. My response was that it wasn't up to me to insure their trailers. It was also not up to me to insure their interests. General liability basically covers them and the shipper. Both are unnecessary expenses. The major problem that I had with their program is that the guy lied to me about the percentage. He denied it when I confronted him. I did talk to several who were doing the program, but no more than they are paying you should be able to do much better with your own trailer and not have the extra insurance costs.

    I received a call a couple of months ago and was told that they no longer require the cartage insurance. I informed them that I could make as much by leasing to Landstar or another carrier and not have the added costs. I believe that my insurance company told me that general liability would add about $700/year per truck to my insurance costs. I don't remember what cartage insurance costs. It is likely about 4% of the stated value, which would be about $1,000. These people want you to pay for all of their costs and they get 30% for brokering you the load.

    If I were you I would take the money you will spend on cartage insurance and general liability and buy a van, if that is what you want to pull. You can pay about 1/2 of the cost with the savings. You should be able to buy a van somewhere between $4,500-6.500. Get with some of the brokers and you should do as well or better and not have the added expense.

    If you want to do drop and hook and make $1.40/mile then put your authority on hold and lease to a carrier that pays percentage where you can make the same or more and not have the added expense.
     
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  3. Hanadarko

    Hanadarko Independent Owner/Operator

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    Yea, General Liability is pricey. My company doesnt offer it in my state either.
    All of your points are totally valid.
     
  4. Krooser

    Krooser Road Train Member

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    My opinion... van freight is the cheapest you can find... no one gets ahead pulling cheap freight. Rates right now are in the toilet...

    After seeing so many guys lease to Schneider and JB and regret it after a short time I wouldn't sign anything with them.
     
  5. G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    There is some decent paying van freight. The problem is that much of the rate isn't getting to the owner operator. If you run your authority and pull a van, you should be able to do fairly well as long as you stay out of the cheap freight areas. I would not run my authority and jump through all of the hoops JB wants and only receive $1.40/mile. It isn't worth it. They should be paying their owner operators at least that much or more to pull their trailers and them pay for all the extra insurance. It is a sweet deal for JB Hunt. They essentially have an owner operator who pays for everything and they take 30% off the top. Most brokers don't make that much.
     
  6. rickybobby

    rickybobby Road Train Member

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    I am doing the power program with another co. They pay 80% of linehaul and 100% fsc. The problem i am having with them is... They put the high dollar frieght on there co trucks. They run me in the dead areas tx, ga, la. Im going to buy my own trailer , and cut my own throat...lol . I am averaging 1.36.
     
    slabrunner Thanks this.
  7. G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    Are you leased to a carrier or running your own authority?
     
  8. person

    person Light Load Member

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    Do I need my own thread for the following?

    I got the info below off the internet. This is the ONLY reason that I would consider leasing and not using my authority. BEING ABLE TO PLAN MY WORK OUT easily and ahead of time. Can some of you please comment on what it is like using their load board? I believe that I read that you could stack up as many trips as you wanted ahead of time. How cool is that? "I will be out X number of weeks and this is what I will be doing and this is what I will be paid." The loads are percentage and you can see what you will make when you choose the trip before you turn in your plan. What exactly am I missing here? Seems that when you were planning you could leave the worst paying loads alone. What are the disadvantages? I know nothing at all about this whole thing.View available freight days in advance and pre-assign loads for enhanced trip planning
     
  9. G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    There are several companies where you can book your own freight and they pay a percentage to the owner operators who are leased to them. Some may be reluctant to book loads very far ahead, especially when an owner operator first leases to them. Anything can happen. There have been some nasty storms this year. Weather is only one thing that can cause delays in delivering your load and that can throw the next and subsequent loads off. If you are interested in Schneider's program I would try to find people who are currently running under the program and see how they like it.
     
  10. rickybobby

    rickybobby Road Train Member

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    I have my own authority...
     
  11. Krooser

    Krooser Road Train Member

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    When I was at Mercer there was a new O/O in for orientation. He WAS with JB Hunt.

    He said he lived in southern Indiana. He delivered a drop/hook load to the Ford plant in Louisville but he had to wait for an empty trailer before he could move... after TWO DAYS he told JB he was going home and to call him when they had an empty.

    They told him he was in violation of his lease if he left without a dispatched trailer... needless to say he went home and pulled his signs.
     
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