Avoid Marten Transport LTD.

Haven't been with Marten long but had great hopes for this company. What I've come to realize is that your Fleet Manager will make or break you. If you have a good one, I don't, life is good. A Marten truck parked beside me in a Pilot truck stop at this time is parked because he ran out of hours after driving 3100 miles, showed me his BOL and logs to prove it. His Fleet manager pre-plans his trips at least 3 loads in advance, showed me his qual-com messages to prove it. I on the other hand sit for days at a time waiting for 5-6, and 700 mile loads that I'm given 3 to 4 days to deliver on. Last week drove 800 miles. About time to talk to my Fleet Managers boss.

 

Dont know who you heard that from but I did some checking into it with my TAX people(ATBS) and the IRS and according to them we still get our $52 a day actually 80% of it we just lose on the medicare and SS part of it but heck by time I get ready for SS it wont be there anyway.

 

I'll retire when I'm dead, keep it.

 

I drove for Marten for a little over a year and it was pretty much a waste of time. It wasn't too bad at first, but then little by little, the miles evaporated.It was not at all
uncommon to have 1,200 mile weeks.

The 3 day 550 mile trips got more than a little old.I simply couldn't make a living with them and left. Before anyone starts in with me, I had and continue to maintain an excellent on time delivery rate,and didn't have any safety issues.

What I noticed was,they are putting as much as they can on railhead. They can move trailers a lot cheaper on the railroad than paying a driver to take it from California to Hunts Point.

At the end of the day, they are Swift with reefers. I'd avoid them.

 

Your right, this also happened to me except that a tow truck driver told me I was fired because I rubbed a guard rail with my tandems on a guard rail late one night on a little country road. Long story, truely my stupid fault but think it could have been handled a little different. I was listening to them tell me how great it was for me that I didn't have to drive into the upper northeast because they would load the trailers on rails and forward them and I'm thinking, how does that help "ME"! Oh well, don't have to worry about that anymore just need to find another job, hope the economy turns around soon.

 

Sounds like an office person posing as a driver. I almost got suckered into working here in 2003, being "pre-hired" as these mega sleaze bag outfits are famous for. Then I did a little research, talked to some their drivers. and got smart. Since I didn't live too far from Mondovi, it wasn't hard to run into a few of them here and there.

I talked to at least 8 company drivers and 2 owner ops. They were all overweight, out of shape, fat, sweaty, smelly and gave they appearance of people who were simply financially broke or broken in spirit. When 10 people from all walks of life tell you it isn't worth it, you start to get a hunch that it isn't worth it. I suppose all 10 of these drivers are "chronic whiners" too?

It's too late Marten, the secret's out. Congratualtions on joining the scumbag brotherhood with Swift and Werner.

 

I heard it from my CPA and I heard it from my father who's a CPA and retired junior vp of auditing for M+I Banks. Per diem is a rip off all the way around, unless they give it to you ONTOP of your base pay instead of cutting into it.

 

Also, for public record... I am now collecting unemployment benefits from them. Marten LOST their appeal. Now all I have to do is keep applying for trucking jobs I can't get thanks to their LIES on DAC and I can get a free ride at their expense til next june, possibly beyond.

They say I was "difficult to get out of the house"... because I refused to leave my perfectly good house to go sit at the terminal for three days waiting for the planners to pull their heads out of their butts and move me. They did that to me three times before I put my foot down and said "if you want me to leave, show me the dispatch".

They say I was "a chronic complainer"... because I didn't think that 1200-1500 miles a week was acceptable, that I was tired of 550 mile 72 hour trips. For 1200 miles a week, I had better be AT HOME and comfortable for 4-5 days a week.

My friend Tom Randle drove for these douche bags for 18 months... had a heart attack while on hometime... they called it a "pre-existing condition", even though he'd never had a heart attack before, left him holding the bag on the $176,000 bill, and then said "they no longer required his services" when he was ready to return to work. I shoulda seen the handwriting on the wall then.

How do you spell Marten? S C U M!!!

 

2 winters ago I took a break at the truck stop in Weed Ca next to 3 marten trucks. Drove to Sumner Wa unloaded the next morning. Reloaded in the afternoon, took a break in Canyonville Or. Stopped by the truck stop in Weed on my way down to LA and the same 3 Marten trucks where still sitting there.

They don't chain so I guess they can only get customers who are in no particular hurry to get freight delivered to them. Which would explain the low miles their drivers are complaining about.

 

Well I must say the miles sure have dropped lately.Im an o/o leased on with Marten came over the first of april and was running pretty good staying busy running east to west but that has all changed recently.
Here is the last 5 weeks of runs for me starting with the last week then working back.

1493miles
2243 miles
4036 miles (a good one)
1099 miles
2685 miles
And currently since monday of this week till today (friday # 34 on the list) while I sit here in Chicago I have 1434 miles for the week and pay has to be in by tuesday # 1am cdt.

I have not requested to go home since I left the house on the 4th of july so I haven't been going home and this is what I have for miles for being away from the house.
Last week had 2 34hr reset's in less than 7day.
I talked to my FM's teamleader this week and he tells me the regional work is the way thing are headed because they are not going to haul that cheap stuff from east to west.(which I can understand)But there are no miles in it for the drivers while they (marten)make a decent profit from short hauling and that they are working on some new accounts and getting some old accounts back.I then pointed and laid it out on the Qcomm this morning to my FM laying out the miles I have listed here plus the fact after fuel (mpg 6.25 hauling 78,000lbs)and a steer tires($350 a week for 2 weeks then they rebate back the diff. for the national acct.) I bought on there national account,and my normal ins. deductions my check was A whole$59.00.
His respone was "Ya I wish I could do something about it,but with no freight everyone is suffering".
I have a thought If your going to run me out of my house (in CA) and run me regional than put me on the west coast region so at least I could go home on my 34resets and see my wife and kids.
Now I do not refuse loads I have never had a service failure and I help them out by covering them on loads there compay drivers can't cover or when they need to get a company driver home.

And to top it off Im trying to get back on doing something else now as there is nothing here for me with my stepdeck (customer wants me to come and haul for him)I have been trying for the last 2 days to get marten to release my current info for employment verif. and Marten is not doing it and will not return my calls.This is the last thing holding me up.

Ok thats my rant.

In short according to what I was told by the Team leader longhauls are going away and going on the rail because they has to stay competitive with there comp and they want to keep there cust. happy and regional is the way they are headed.