Marten Transport earnings nearly double as expenses fall

Just talk to a recruiter at Martens and they just told me that the east coast they do not hire any more when i sen them email proir to doing the aoplication and they said YES oh well maybe next time NOT> bummer!

 

5 days working to 1 day off vs 6 days workin to one day off. IE work 20 day and take 4 off. in stead of work 21 days and taking 3 days off.

they where not bought out. Martin (notice the spelling) went under.

looking at 07/06

 

That is true in the NORTH east. They are hiring in the SOUTH east.

 

Strange, I got a 0.03/mi increase in my per diem pay this month, on top of my regular 0.005/mile 6 month raise. I suspect the cut in expenses came from fuel savings (due to the APU's), getting rid of the POS Volvo's that kept breaking down, as well as the sharp reduction in major-loss accidents.

As for why a particular driver is sitting, a recruiter can't answer such a question, since they work for HR, not Operations. I can say a lot of us did a lot of sitting last winter, especially those who emptied out in the West Coast or Great Lakes areas, because the economy in those areas tanked big time. If a driver is on a dedicated account that picks up in those areas, they got hammered, big time. Same with the rail, local, and regional drivers for those areas.

 

Doesn't really surprise me. Since there's no freight in the northeast, there's no sense hiring drivers from that area.

 

Greetings all.

 

Well I have tendered my resignation at Marten and I am just waiting to get home. I was not going to even give notice but after reading some of the posts here I decided it was the right thing to do. I just hope I don't get screwed by doing it. I just want to get home so I can be on my way. I have been with the company for about six weeks and I averaged only a net of $490.00 per week. That is with the per diem and without any medical benefit premiums being taken out. I really had high hopes for the job but they did not seems to pan out for me. I was making more at my last company then I am making here. What a bummer. Well you win some and you lose some.

 

Good luck on your next job I don't thank Marten will do any thing to mess your dac up I have worked for them at one time.

 

Thanks for your response. I am not sure if I want to stay any more. Once I get fed up I am kind of through. Over the six weeks I called Dan Blair (team leader) three times and left him messages to call me. Finally the other day he called called me back and left a message on my voice mail. By that time I had already tendered my resignation. By that time I just wanted as far away from Marten as I could get. I know I have only been there six weeks but it seems like a pattern was being set up that I didn’t like. I noticed that a lot of the good runs seem to go on the train and that leaves a lot of short stuff for the OTR drivers. I think we help cover the loads that the regional drivers are supposed to haul. I was talking to a regional driver in LA and he said they get more money per mile for doing the short hauls and less money when they happen to get a longer one. We get the same regardless. I had my FM give me a couple of real bone jobs as well. She had me do some local work in Houston and only would pay me mileage. It took me four hours to complete and the mileage was only seventy miles. I think I made six dollars an hour for that one. I was also assigned a load that picked up from the Forest Park yard and delivered to some meat house fifty miles away. I got assigned the load at four o’clock on one day and the load did not deliver until seven o’clock the next evening. It also took about two hours to unload. All I got paid was thirty-four cents per mile on the fifty miles. I was stuck with that load for seventeen hours and made seventeen dollars. It just seems like I get brought to the mid-west from CA when my home time is over and then it’s hippity hop until it’s time to go home. I am a runner and like most good drivers, I thrive off of running long and hard. It’s just not worth it to me to fight these people to try to make a decent living. I am a good driver. My MVR is spotless, I am always early for my pickups and deliveries, I take care of the equipment and I don’t destroy the freight. I love to run and I hate to sit. I just want to work heard and get paid honestly for my labor. I don’t see that happening at Marten. I don’t think they CAN run me hard enough. I ran into two different drivers who had been working for Marten for about a year when I started working here. They ask me what my company number was and then they did the math. Both of them exclaimed "that is two thousand drivers hired over one year." Well there must be a reason for such a turn over. Anyway, I know some people really like Marten and I should not rag on their company any more. I am just leery now of any company that uses the rail to ship freight. Those are the good mile loads.

 

You must be talking about Prime's "privately" (driver) owned site. A hand full of us used to be member's until thing's started getting snobby with the "we're better than them" attitude's so we left when we left the company after getting screwed. A couple still work there but are not happy and are also no longer member's of the site. Lot's of "CB" rumors floating around there. We all went different way's but still call and check up and hang out when we get a chance.

I went to Marten after Prime and did well there. The process of paperwork and such wasn't exactly my cup of tea but for the most part not a bad place to work. Now I know after posting this one of those driver's from that site will come in here bumping their gum's about how I did this and how I did that put word's in my mouth I never said assuming what I did was my fault, kissing the company's ### when none of them were in my truck to know what went on. One thing I've learned there, you will get more BS on your shoe's in their driver's lounge than walking around a stock yard and that's no BS!