mercer transportation

go ahead all you people reding this post sponsored by the recruitment team at mercer go try it for yourselves and you will see what i was talking about but these yo yos on here will tell you ya got to learn the system ,your truck gets bad fuel mileage, you spend too much on the road, your only suppose to eat baloney sandwiches when your out there, i mean the list goes on and on its freakin crazy

 

and hey by the way if your from jersey or new york or pa and are headed to orientation hit me up on here because ive made sooooo much money here i cant even afford a trip down there to give them their trailer back

 

That's far from my problem when we leased on we had everything didn't need someone to hold my hand. Even before we dead headed the 1,000 miles the truck was looked over to make sure everything would pass. You wouldn't show up to pick up a load with no chains or straps would you?

Mercer should only hire experienced flatbed drivers but that won't work because we know what rates should be so they will keep bringing in guys that don't know better.

 

im done even trying to explain,ive wasted too much energy on it honestly.why should i care what happens to anybody else.if you go to mercer you will fail.im getting out of here for good mercer sucks,i thought mercer drivers didnt but now i dont care.when i roll by ya in mercer row ill jake for ya.scumbags

 

I've been leased to several companies over the last 30+ years, and had my own company, as well as terminal manager at an LTL company and a major tank company. Of all the leases I've had Mercer has by far and away the best payroll I've ever dealt with. No surprises, they deduct what is owed to them, that's all. You have been around, so you should be aware that there are companies that give NO advance, you get paid in two weeks after receipt of your paperwork. You provide your fuel however you want, cash, credit card, they don't' care. Mercer has a generous policy on advancing funds, but it's your money from which you pay your expenses. When that advance is made TO YOU, it is revenue received BY YOU. To say you have only received 4000 is wrong, regardless if that that may be all you have had deposited in your checking account. What about advances, do you take cash out of them? While I agree with a lot of what you said about brokered freight, I still disagree, or need more explanation of how you only have 4k out of 29K. How much would have been deposited in your account if you took no advances? You could pay all expenses on your own that way and not involve Mercer or any other company. Did you maybe get equipment from them that you owed/still own on? I'm trying to understand, not argue with you. I'm not doubting your numbers, but I just can't make sense of them based on my rookie status of only 30 years of doing this myself. Not getting rich here by any means, and this last couple weeks has been pitiful, but I'm holding my own and expecting things to improve greatly in the next month or two.

Now when it comes to brokered freight, unfortunately more and more companies, and much of the gov't / military, prefers to use 3PL's rather than contracting and dealing with multiple carriers. Give all your freight to one 3PL and they handle getting the trucks, and provide one point of contact instead of dozens, or hundreds. One source for freight charges that is consistent. Do I like how it waters down our rates? Hell no! But it is a fact that it is done this way and saves shippers money several ways. We all know shippers generally don't give a crap about drivers so our financial distress is of no consequence to them. The CH Robinsons and JB Hunts that drive down rates drive them down for everyone. Remember the motto for 21st Century trucking, "every load is a backhaul for somebody."

 

here ya go new people round to oregon from pa to oregon and reloaded to delaware truck grossed 9500.00 kmx took home 516.00 from first trip and 998.04 from return load with 250.00 left on card from advance so add it up thats 1716.00 for two weeks of work now from my experience paying drivers they would laugh at you if their check was anything less than 2400 to go out there and back and mercer expects you to be a owner operator on this

 

sorry 1764

 

Bayou, you should already know that getting drivers, any drivers, is one of the biggest challenges any company has. You stated your issues getting decent ones, I closed up shop because I couldn't find any worth hiring. It's not straps and chains, but at a(won't say the name) major tank company I was with I saw them send out guys straight from orientation, first load that "had to go NOW". No hoses or fittings on the truck/trailer. Guys would come over and ask to borrow MY equipment (emphasis on MY, owned by me not company) and unload for them because they had absolutely no idea what to do. Same thing is happening in flatbed, most companies are trying to put bodies in seats first, hoping they'll learn as they go, if they last that long. There's no easy answer to any of these problems.

 

This happens to be right at the time of year that tags are taken out, right? If you, like me and others, didn't set aside a portion of escrow for that, then the letter we received back in Nov or Dec should have detailed that it would be taken out this month. Unfortunately this happens same time every year (of course) and it coincides with the seasonal slow down. I forgot about it myself until I just received my settlement this morning and wondered what happened. How much difference would that have made? Also any cash advances that weren't spent on the truck. Food is not a truck expense, it doesn't factor into your profit/loss statement. Per diem should more than make up for food costs. My deduction last year was $18-19K I think? Home at my legal residence only a few days the entire year. Unfortunately also, the mpg on your truck is eating into your profit. I don't know too many people willing to get into buying a new(er) truck in this economy. I'll bet though that if you were to run the numbers on a truck that you could average 7.5 on the savings would pay for a large part of the truck payment, it would be worth considering if your circumstances permit it. Less maintenance too. My truck is hitting a period where expendable items are all crapping out, water pump, alternator, radiator, things that last 800-900k miles then need replacement. Also it's a 98 so it's time for some stuff to give out just from age. I'm weighing cost of new truck vs savings in fuel (not too much) and maintenance (maybe a lot). Tough decisions the way things are now. 30 yrs ago 2.25 a mile all miles, and we went out loaded and deadheaded back, even if we went to the west coast. Fuel was under 50¢ and insurance was pocket change. That shows the downfall of this industry for O/O's in that time frame. More work, more regulation, more oversight, less gross money, and net down in the toilet compared to back then. If anyone can find a better place I''m happy for them. No company is a good fit for everyone. Some companies are not a good fit for anyone, and likewise some drivers are not a good fit for any company.

 

Does anyone know of a decent tarp repair shop in the southeast pa region? Need d-rings installed.