Marten Transport is a piece of work

Okay you so you don't know how to add up days or miles. I said I have will have ran 510 mile since 6/21 to 6/25. Let me break it down, I was in Detroit 6/21 I delivered 6/22 I picked up a load 6/24 which was dispatched to me on 6/23 I am currently at the recvr on 6/25 in Illinois. I'm currently under dispatch for 380 miles thtat picks up 2200 on 6/25 and delivers on 6/26 263 miles away. I have made more money with layover pay than driving pay and I'm sure you won't be able to figure that one out. The most of the drivers on the east coast are starving we have been put on regional runs without the regional pay.

 

Once again another dumb Marten driver. This is 2009 they signed a new contract expanding the rail operations thru out the east coast. And my low miles is consistent with most not all of the Marten drivers that I have been talking to for 2 weeks sitting in the truckstops waiting for loads. Oh yeah they just keep on hiring drivers even though they are having a hard time keeping the one's they have busy.

 

I drive for Marten. I get 1500-2200 miles a week and this IS in line with what other Marten drivers are getting. They are going intermodal and have announced they are becoming a regional carrier because they cannot compete with long haul companies anymore. Their average length of haul is about 650 miles now and they give you 2-3 days to move it. I sat in Virginia for 5 days straight waiting for a load. You drive only about 4 days a week now so you make no money but you never need a restart either. Marten is now limiting you to 50 gallons of fuel a day in several areas of the US because they are having trouble paying for fuel. They also won't authorize a washout of your trailer no matter how dirty unless their is blood on the floor because they can't afford washouts either.

 

Wow. R.I.P Bluebird.

 

Must be company driver thing, I get longhauls 1700-2400 mile runs and get as much fuel as I want when I want and don't sit that long for loads.I have been getting preplans while under loads and if not preplaned I have a load offer within 2hrs usually.
Marten can't pay the fuel bills.....huh .....a company that has had record profits during the economic down turn and is debt free.
I don't see that....If your not happy or not getting the miles try a different fm or try and see if anybody else could make you happy.

 

I don't drive for Marten, but I find it hard to believe that the Blue bird would fall so easy. Last I heard they were running in the green, so I don't see how things could have gotten so bad so quick.

 

I had a Marten sitting next to me bobtail last night when I parked for a 34. He's gone now so he must have had something to do.

*Edit: Whoops. Found him. He didn't like my cat rumbling next to him so he moved away and parked. He's still here.

 

Excuse me, where in the world did you hear they cannot pay thier fuel bill??? Sitting at the termnial ? Or reading other company's websites?

For the last 6 months, the Fuel Manager had been trying a program out, where we were having to avoid buying fuel in those states with the highest fuel tax. Thus the color coded map they handed out..
Yes, Red states were a no no to buy fuel in, UNLESS you couldn't make it to yellow or green states.Then yes it was only a 50 gal max, until you could reach those states.

The Fuel Dept. realized in those 6 months , that this program was not working as they had hoped it would . To many drivers having to fuel 2 sometime 3 times a day in the northeast states ,where the fuel tax was the highest. Yet they weren't getting loads that ran them to a yellow or green state.

So as of around the first of June,( i got one from my dispatcher, and another from the Ops Manager) a msg came over the qc saying that the fueling program, using the colored map, was being discontinued, except for reefer fuel. Continue to use that map on where to fuel reefers. There are a bunch of states that do not refund off road use tax for reefers. Look in the front of the fuel stop guide, that can be found at every terminal.

As for wash out, thats been the policy for 4 years now. MY queston is, why can't you sweep it out? Other than for liquid on the floor? You buy a broom, the company DOES PAY FOR THE BROOM. They have paid for two brooms. Some guys use leaf blowers with 18 volt rechargeble batteries. They take it out in taxes.
4 years ago, they had problems with drivers selling thier wash out PO'S for cash, to other drivers. It had become so rampant, they had to change the policy.
If i have any liquid on the floor, i tell my dispatcher, and get apporved for a wash out. Meat and some beer loads , still are approved for washouts. Most times it will say that washout are approved on the preplan.

Miles? Last week i ran from Cen. California, to Mich. Sat one day to regain some hrs, turned around and went back to Califorina, where i ended up sitting the this weekend. I had to turn down another load going from Fowler,Ca to Covington, GA because truck and apu are due for service. And get this i'm a company driver.
And no i don't have the best dispatcher. ( i have one who is part of the 'knitting circle')

Why do people think Marten is going under.
It's in a very good financel situation right now, and has been for years.
Go back to each qaurter for the last 3 years and read their statements, that they release. You can do this on the co. website, or the NASDAQ (yes it's a publicly traded company)website. MRTN
If drivers are not getting the miles, then you need to 'fire' your dispatcher. Don't let them blow smoke up your ###.
Being ontime 100% of the time will help you get the better miles.


Why is it they trade trucks about every 3 years, and trailers around 5 years Just talked a guy who picks up brand new trailers with out reefers and hauls them back to Mondovi, and he told me Marten just orderd 500 new trailers from Utility. I saw over 20 new ones on I-80 last week headed east this past week.
If they are going under, then why are they buying new ones? Don't you think they wouldn't do this or see that they can't afford to?

One thing i have learned, don't sit around and listen to the ######## session at terminals or truck stops. Every time i'm at one of 5 terms, there's always one going on. And i turn around and go sit somewhere else.

 

When I see claims being made for dates that have not yet happened, I have a tendency to disbelieve them. As for my math skills, they are likely far beyond those of anyone you know. Fine, we'll set these two issues aside for a moment...

That you sat for only two days in Michigan tells me your fleet manager busted his or her ### to get you a load out of there. The average is four days. In case you haven't heard, Michigan's economy went into meltdown last fall, and isn't expected to recover anytime soon. Ditto with the neighboring states and the Northeast. Pretty much everything east of I-35 and north of I-70 is screwed up economically right now, and the rest of the country isn't doing much better.

All of us here at Marten have good weeks and bad, fortunately more of the former than the latter. That Marten remains profitable, debt free, and is actually able to hire is amazing to me, especially given the claims you are making. I must be the highest paid driver in the company, since I average more than 2500 miles a week right now (and climbing), and I go into the Great Lakes and Northeast fairly regularly.

I'm sorry, but I have a hard time swallowing what you are trying to get others to believe, given my experiences with this company are vastly different from what you are claiming, and from what others are telling me as well. If things are really that bad for you, then I must ask the obvious question, why do you remain here, and why aren't you looking for a job elsewhere? Even McD's pays more than what you claim you are making, and at least you could get home every night.

 

If things are that bad, why do you continue working for Marten? Why not just quit, and be done with it?