Mid-west Coast Transportation

I drove for MCT. There pay isn't the top pay, but I was treated great. They are a good company based out of Sioux Falls, SD. They don't have company trucks so you would drive for a small fleet owner. The benefits depend on what owner you drive for, some are good some aren't. I drove for DeMartelere Trucking and I think he is the best person there is to drive for. Course everyone has their own opinion. MCT is a reefer company so if you don't like grocery warehouse then you will want to stay clear of them. You can get good miles and are treated good, the equipment will depend on who you drive for. I know there are some people out there that will differ from my opinion, but I have nothing bad to say about MCT.

 

Well, here I go again. Off the road for a couple years. Back to work I go. I will be starting at MCT via Wood tommorrow. I will let ya all know how it goes, as it goes. I have a bit of faith in them already since I worked for the sister company WSE and appriciated the experiance.

 

OK, so I have been with the company for a while now so I thought I would put a few words down to what I have seen so far.

Midwest is unlike anything I have done so far. It is an umbrella over many small companies including 100 truck size, down to single o/o's. Most of what I will be talking about relate to just my small company and not MCT as a whole. I am with the second largest of there fleets, Wood Trucking, out of Ohio. Here are some things I have noted. I will put a * for MCT wide stuff.

- Perdiem Pay
* Non Forced dispatch. (Most cases you pick from a number of loads)
* Home time is really up to the driver, literlly.
- No direct deposit
- OLD equipment, but VERY well maintained. My truck is going to hit 1 Million miles, but it is like new inside and runs just fine.
- Close and friendly atmosphear
- Extra dispatcher / operations manager that works with the main dispatcher fighting to keep you moving and getting home.
* Excellent safety record even though....
- Would not suggest as a place to start, becouse they expect trainers to team drive.
* Teams (or people that want to team) can go on a special fleet that REALLY moves. Very little down time. I experianced it myself.
- Trucks capped at a comfertable 70 (although mine seems to be 75 with lower gearing.)

One last note. To understand the quality of people at Wood, just consider this operating practice:
During the winter, let them know when you plan to go out. They will pull your tractor inside the garage bay the day before so its nice and warm when you pull out. Thats Class A people!

 

Glad you are being treated well there. Like I said, I have nothing bad to say about them. I had newer equipment, but even our older units were in GREAT condition. Take care Bro and good luck out there on the road

 

I suppose it all depends on your needs and on your ability to see eye-to-eye with your dispatcher. MCT likes to keep drivers out a long time unless you have one of their special quasi dedicated routes in which case you may get back to Sioux Falls weekly. One of my classmates got one of these dedicated out runs by luck of the draw and he runs from SD to the East Coast each week and then gets a brokered load or two back to Sioux Falls. He seems to like it. I can see why.

MCT is not all reefer as it has lots of 3M loads and those are great and usually so light that scaling is not necessary which helps with time and miles since MCT pays promiles which always meant I drove 8 to 11 percent more miles than I got payed for and I used very good mapping software and always drove highways if shorter. Couple promiles with some of the lowest pay in the industry (28 cpm pro miles) though and you will be very lucky to make more than $35,000 annual gross pay even if you stay out all the time. MCT also does not have a medical insurance plan unless you spend something like $350 per month for just the driver.

If you are VERY realistic about the load volume present in the industry at any particular time and you don't expect to be moving all the time when freight isn't available, you would probably like MCT. They can get you coast-to-coast and I would have stayed forever if I could have gotten more of those because they let you plan overnights so as to not end up timed out with toothpicks holding your eyes open at an already full truckstop.

If you go through the Midwest Coast training program without being told that you likely WON'T get a choice of loads because there isn't enough freight or because the company already gave a choice of loads to their seniority drivers who rejected the bad ones, you will have more realistic expectations and be less likely to get mad and quit. Instead, I didn't understand why I never got choices as promised by recruiting, and I always took it personally when my dispatcher gave me the loads that I now realize all the seniority drivers had turned down because they had pickups during rushhour inside the loop in Chicago.

Make sure you get a low clearance map for Chicago too. You WILL be sent into downtown Chicago. MCT training did not give me a map or warn me of any low clearance problems in Chicago. One 911 call later and I had learned a lesson the hard way but thankfully did not harm the truck or my CDL.

BRI

 

I live in Sioux Falls and spent 6 months at MCT, I worked for 3 different fleet owners. 1 went out of business, 1 downsized and the last was Scott Jannsen which I loved working for but I was capped out at 29cpm and no insurance, so I left. Lots of drop and hook had Candace for my travel agent and after a month she knew what I liked and just sent me the load so I didnt need the load options. Great people and lots of freight I just needed more money and insurance.

 

Hi there!
I am a wannabe trucker and considering this school. I live in Toledo, and am nearly broke ! I wanti to start school in early July. How is your experience with MCT Wood? Can you recommend any company sponsored training for someone in my shoes - clean drving record and 1 misdemeanor (2004) ? I appreicate any advice you might have. Thanks!

 

I honestly can't argue with anything you have said. I look at it from maybe a different angle, but I can't say you are wrong. The pay is the biggest negative. But from being in the industry the short time I have been in it, working for good honest people in good maintained equipment means A LOT. I would also contend that, yes, its not normal getting to pick loads lately. I would say its just low fright volume though. That being said, I have never had more miles (pushing safe logs). They really keep me running. So much so that I am thinking about training. As for Chicago, I am guessing that really normally only applies to the Chicago local terminal guys which is but a percentage of the fleet. As for Wood, by far the best man I have ever worked for. He and his wife have treated me as a partner, not just some grunt. They are constantly fighting for me. I will take lower pay for that anytime.

 

I don't know how you can go to MCT trucking school when you are nearly broke as it will make you broker. You will get 10 or 11 cpm for every mile the truck moves for your mandatory 10 weeks or more of team driving. This is why you will WANT to be team driving from day one. But remember, you won't get paid for three weeks of training and it will take you an additional one or two weeks to get your CDL test and hook up with your training driver. So you will be ready and able to work for five weeks before you start "earning" any pay at all. Then it will be at least another week before you get paid for your miles. So six weeks before any pay is not impossible.

Then, after you get back to the yard and pass your final driving test, you'll be set free to drive for 25 cpm with absolutely NO BENEFITS WHATSOEVER. So you drive 2000 miles per week and you earn gross pay of $500.00 once you go solo. Search the archives. I did an average weekly pay post using my real earnings from 15 weeks of paid driving for MCT and it equalled something like $222 a week. And that didn't count the four weeks of school and waiting.