Trucking: owner operator vs motor carrier, central hub, trucking company

Question
thank you for the quik answer. so would a motor carrier maybe less hassle, what about the cost differance, we haul intermodal from rail yards and our rates are set by zones from the central hub out and are flat rates, so to stay competitive we cant increase our rates to much and with trying to expand we would like to keep the rates low until we get the name out there, i'm looking for the most cost effective way of expanding. any thougts will be helpfull. i myself would like to use a motor carrier i know one that i use to work for that could help me out but the final choice is not mine
         thank you-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
i work for a small trucking company(3 trucks)and we want to expand and haul more loads but at this time we can not afford to lease another truck, so we are thinking of hiring owner operators to haul what we cant. my question is would having another motor carrier haul our overflow be cheaper or maybe better, we would not be responsible for finding any back haul if we dont already have one. what is a general cost differance between the two options and any pro-cons would be helpful
         thank you
Answer -
Jeff, Owner Operators are a good way to expand your capacity but not easy.  Most Owner Operators will look for the bigger companies that can keep them busy with good paying loads on an on-going basis.  Another alternaticve is to get a brokers license then broker the loads you can't handle with your own trucks.  This is a strickly a supply and demand situation so some loads will pay better than others and trucks might be scarce at times in certain lanes.  If you can find a few owner operators that will give you good service and you can keep them busy, it is a good way to grow profitably.  A lot depends on your customers and potential customers.  If they are service sensative or price driven, Either way you will need to  meet their expetations consistantly over time to keep them.
Best of luck.
JIM

Answer
Not knowing the details of your business, it would be difficult to give you a credible answer one way or the other,  I suggest you just do a complete cost analysis of all of your options, then don't tie yourself in to a long term contract in case you need to make a change.  keep flexable.  JIM