mercer transportation

Here is my take on Mercers rates. Years ago, when you leased on to Mercer you had to have a couple years flatbed experience, you had to have a trailer and you had to have a tractor. So to get on with Mercer you already were successful. That was what the agents sold. When the agent talked to a shipper, the shipper was told that someone with experience would pickup the freight. The driver would know how to tie down an oddball load without damage. They sold quality

Here we are today, the agent can no longer sell the customer top of the line experience. Now our drivers have no more experience than company A B or C, so in order for the agents to get the freight, we have to have rates very competitive with companies A B and C. In years past our rates were well above average.

I am not coming down on inexperience or a lease purchase. My first truck was a lease purchase over 30 years ago. I have been here a long time. Mercer has made many changes over the years, in my opinion some good some not so good. I am very successful at running a one truck operation. Mercer has made these changes in their best interest. These are very smart people running this company. I don,t think you can find a trucking company with as much integrity and as honest as this company is.

If you can't make it here then get your own authority, If you are smart enough. If not, then lease on with an outfit with forced dispatch and run miles.

This turned into a rant. I get tired of people complaining. Many of you will go broke, a few will be successful. A recession will come, that is when it gets hard. It is easy today.

 

I can't say I disagree with anything you said. I know I complain quite a bit about rates, but I guess I'm just a little disappointed, not as much about revenue, but more about paragraph 2 as a whole, because revenue would take care of itself if it were still the way of paragraph 1. I actually take a lot of pride in having Mercer on my door because of what you said in paragraph 1. It's like you said, Mercer is doing what's in their best interest, and everyone else should do the same.

 

ALL about timing..............do tell.......if you only go home every 90 days or so 1) you don't have much of a life and 2) getting $2 a mile loads out of Texas 4 times a year is nothing to brag about.

 

hold on there hoss, I have questioned a dang thing you have said. youre the yahoo who started in with me a while back. I have stated many times you have to find what works for you and do it. what works for one here , doesn't work for the other. the only disagreement I have , is with all the gllom and doom, this is no unlike anytime in the past 35 years when rates drop, goo up or stay the same. you have to change and adapt on the fly , lanes that worked last month may change the next month. and I would like to see where I said I did 1.85 last year, I did a bit better than that. the biggest difference with some of us is that some are glass half full guys and some are half empty glass guys.

 

first I posted how I manage to do that, go back and read the post. and where did I post that 1.85??? I cant find it . I did a bit better than that

 

that's laughable, many of us stay out for periods of time and have a pretty good home life. I simply prefer to able to provide things for my family that wouldn't be possible if I stayed home more often. I sacrifice my time to enable them to do things, its worked out pretty good so far. many folks that go home every day or every weekend have totally screwed up lives, the quality of life has nothing to do with the amount of time . my 5 kids know the sacrifice their mom and I have made, they think of me in many ways to show their appreciation, one sent a pic while in the air after jumping from a c 130 , and another sent me the pic from the back of her horse taken of her mom in the stands right after winning a national dressage championship, the text said , thanks for my horse , dad. mom is happy. I will stay gone 120 days to make that happen. so youre off base with your statement. I think most guys think more of themselves who wont stay out, I simply do whatever it takes, no matter how many days

 

Rather than post it, and keep this going, I'll pm it to you. What I meant about you questioning me, is when the two of you assumed that I was doing something wrong because I was complaining about rates! It was the assumption of stupidity that riled me up! Lets ring the bell & go to seperate corners. Deal?

 

that not what he said at all, you didn't read it correctly

 

Thanks for that. I agree, it used to be earned to call yourself an "owner op". I'm afraid now it's given out like candy on Halloween and just as you said we offering nothing that any other carrier can. Good post.

 

fine by me I will await the pm