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Going independent or leasing to a carrier?

November 17, 2009

| by: Max Kvidera

After a lot of soul-searching and research, owner-operator Harry Zane decided leasing his truck was his best option for him at this time.

For Harry Zane, the decision to lease his truck when he became an owner-operator came after considerable thought and research. He knows he wants to operate under his own authority, but he’s not ready yet. “I would like to be a completely independent owner-operator,” Zane says. “I’ve talked to other owner-operators out there about the pros and cons, but I don’t feel like I know enough to on my own.”

Zane left the Army in 2008 after a 25-year career and completed his paperwork to become an owner-operator. He signed a three-year lease on a 2005 Freightliner Columbia through ATBS Leasco, leased on to Greatwide and drives routes in the U.S. and Canada for Am-Can. “I did the lease-purchase program to understand more about how freight works and to get my feet wet,” Zane says.

Zane and other owner-operators face the choice of starting their own business and running on their own or hiring out to a carrier. Each path has pluses and minuses, and Rick McNeill of Motor Carrier Consultants says not all owner-operators are suited to be independent.

“A lot of it depends on the individual,” McNeill says. “I’ve noticed over the years there are people who are more comfortable working for someone else who makes the decisions. And there are people who have the mentality they want to be on their own and have their own business.”

Carol Pense, vice president at The Permit Connection, says the pace of truckers seeking information or going after their own authority was higher the first half of 2009 compared with the second half of 2008. “I don’t know if it’s from people who’ve lost their job or are trying this as a new avenue,” she says.

Owning your authority

Running under your own authority, otherwise known as your motor carrier authority number, or MC Number, requires business sense, the willingness to chart your own course and experience behind the wheel. Plus, the patience and funding to set yourself up.