05/27/2026
For all of you out here doing lease purchases — this is what the real rates look like right now on chicken freight.
This load right here: 40,000 pounds of palletized chicken, 610 loaded miles, paying $2,500 to the driver. That works out to over $3.47 a mile.
Now I want you to think about that. Because there are lease-purchase drivers out here being told they are making $1.55 to $1.85 a mile on the same freight, out of the same facilities, running the same miles.
Owner-operators have access to rate data. We can see what loads actually pay. The question you need to ask yourself before you sign any lease-purchase agreement is — does your carrier know what this freight pays?
And if they do, where is the rest of your money going?
Do your research before you sign anything. The information is out there. You just have to know where to look.