marten transport- A+ company to drive for

They have a no pet policy unless you have your own truck or if I remember right you can if your a lease purchase.
Yes they are hiring and they have different regional runs as well as 48 and canada.Company drivers are also forced dispatch.(thankfully I own my truck so that does not apply).

 

Does Marten have a training school/program for inexperienced drivers?

 

Not that im aware of.

 

Thanks Kelgar. Too bad. They seem like a good company

 

Well I for one had 800, yes you heard me right, eight hundred miles last week and am sitting in a truck stop in the middle of a WI cornfield for three days until my load picks up on Monday morning. I complained to my dispatcher about this and she refused to answer me and went home for the week-end. Easy for them, route you for the next week and out the door to forget about you. Each week I get just under 2500 miles except for this last week of course. I believe this is planned to keep driver from getting their 30000 miles for the quarter so they won't get the $500 bonus Marten likes to brag they give drivers. I've just about had it with companies lying about all the great miles and how they care about their drivers and trucks, it all comes down to one person in the company and that's the dispatcher, if you have a good one it's great but if you have a bad one and most of them are bad then your in for one hell of a ride. Good luck making enough money to pay the bills.

 

You base this observation on WHAT??

 

Truck companies do whatever they can to save money.

I worked for a company that had guaranteed salary program. They did everything they could to make it impossible to deliver the load on time and therefore result in the lost guarantee.

 

You must be talking about the good ole K&B

 

Okay, lets see how many questions I can answer all at once:

Marten's starting base pay scale is $0.36 to $0.39 per mile, with a half cent raise every 6 months to $0.43 per mile. However, there are some new twists.

Per Diem pay reduces your base rate by $0.165 per mile, and you get back $0.14/mile. The $0.025 per mile is a fee you pay to "process the per diem," because Marten claims they can only claim 80% of up to $52.00 per day.

The pay per mile, however, is sliding scale. If the load (not the miles you ran with it) between 600 and 750 miles, you will get your normal pay. Under that range, and you can make up to $0.015 cents more per mile. Over that range, and you get $0.005 cents less per mile. See what I copied from another post I made for details (below).

It's official, per the message that went out fleet wide over the qcomm. Per iem participation will be mandatory effective September 1, 2009. Also, all OTR drivers will now be paid using the same sliding scale pay scheme used with the regional fleets, which translates into a $0.005/mile pay cut on nearly all OTR runs.

Drivers are being asked to not call payroll, which is reasonable since payroll didn't know this was coming down today, and they still are trying to get this week's payroll out and start on next week's. Drivers were initially told to contact their fleet managers or visit Marten's web site for information, but it turned out neither has information, and the FM's are already swamped trying to juggle 100 drivers each. So,, we've been told to contact HCH, the company managing the per diem (who has no answers either, nor are they involved in the sliding scale pay scheme).

Please remember, for those who are planning to quit over these two schemes, to give reasonable notice and continue to be professional. You still need a decent reference for the next job, which I advise getting before giving notice. If you FM or Marten jerks you around, but you gave proper notice and remained professional, then it will reflect well on you and bad on them in the future.

Also, from my conversations with the IRS, those on the per diem who are not qualified for that deduction because they have no fixed residence (as proven by rent or mortgage receipts, or property tax statements), you should set aside and not spend roughly 75% of your per diem, to meet the new taxes you will have to pay out of pocket (Federal and state income taxes, as well as both employee and employer shares of FICA and Medicare, and any other taxes normally deducted). If the amount paid or due is high enough, you may need to file quarterly returns. Contact your tax professional, the IRS, and the state IRS equivelant for information on what may be required.

Also, remember to tell your tax professional about the $0.025/mi fee you are being charged. This may be deductable as an involuntary and unreimbursed business expense, and you may need to issue a Form 1099 to Marten on this one next January (because of the amounts involved).

 

Howdy's. I currently drive for Central Refridge been with them for about a year and half. I am currently on a dedicated account, we just got a 2 cent pay cut, plus they cut out ontime, safety, bonuses and reduced layover/breakdown pay to $10/day. Also per diem has always been madatory.

Anyway, I am looking to jump ship before it sinks, as the ontime bonus thing is a big hit for me.

A few questions,
1. what are company trucks governed at (Currently I am 62)

2. Are you on electronic logs? (We are)

3. I live in ohio, what are the regional fleets like? Is hometime a problem?

4. All trucks have a APU? If so do they have an inverter? If so what wattage?

5. What kind of truck are they giving drivers? Whatever dog is in the house? Currently I am in an 2009 Volvo

Anyway, I have talked to several drivers that seemed to like Marten, but don't know if this new pay scheme is good or bad, I just know that mine right now sucks especially being govered at 62 and on elogs.

Thanks for any info.