Marten Transport earnings nearly double as expenses fall

First off,in another thread,for some bizzare reason,some ex Marten drivers wanted to go back to that dirtbag carrier.Marten doesn't re-hire ex Marten drivers.You leave,stay gone.

The obvious reason they are hiring is that they constantly need to replace the drivers they are hemmoraging.If they were so good,why would people leave them,especially in a troubled economy?

Yeah,the mandatory per diem for starters..

That's strange, because most of the drivers I spoke to when I drove at Marten for almost a year and half couldn't seem to break a 2,000 mile week.That was with 3 trips.Afte r6 months there,I never had another coast to coast run again.before we start the ''your late/your a flake etc" Hold off.I'm not a flake,and never had a service failure. They just arent the comapny they were 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago.Now they hire just about anybody ,anybody except an ex Marten driver that is.Take at look at their safety rating.It's not good.

See what they pay you after they after they FORCE you into the per diem..

I will give them credit for getting you home in a timely manner, but I'm kinda funny.When I go home after a month on the road,I actually like to be able to pay my bills. That was a difficult proposition at Marten.

Yes,they usually got me home on time and payed the $50.00 when they didn't.

All in all,they aren't worth the trouble.I'm not trying to piss on anyones parade,but I been there,done that. They aren't worth the hassle.

All I'm saying is,you been warned.Good luck,but seriously,look elsewhere.

 

Farrel 67, I couldn't disagree more. I've been working for Marten now for 6 months. Over all it's been good. I won't list every thing here. Check out the post 1/21/10 update. But I get good miles, make good money, and run 800 or more miles every trip. Just picked up a load today that has 1309. Will make 2918 for the week. I run 2 weeks at a time and take 2-3 days off. I have the truck I want and fix it up the way I like. I get home on time and run the area I like. Except for that darn per-diem I can't complain.

 

Fair enough Kabar.As I've said before,I'm glad you're doing well.I'd rather see you up than see you down..

My first 6 months at Marten were swell too,the last 6 months were a nightmare.Let us know how you're doing in say, 8 months..

 

does anyone know how stringent martens pws policy is?

 

pws?

Also, and I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but only because I hear myself say it so often: if a driver sits it can be because he's unlucky, a pain in the butt to work with, or stuck in a soft freight cycle. If most drivers sit at a given company, start paying attention. A lot of problems between "The Office" and the driver are communication and personality issues...often the driver's fault. I mean, c'mon folks, we're truckers, but that's not carte blanche to be a demanding, loud-mouthed pain.

All that said: I just past six months w/ Marten. I know, I don't know anything because I haven't been there 20 years...and when I've been here 20 years I'll be too dumb to have quit. Haters gonna HAAAATE!

I'd like to note that you're only fooling yourself if you go to Marten without a HazMat endorsement and/or a passport and expect to get fully utilized. I have both, and sure I have some weeks that are a little slow, but a vast majority of the slow weeks are related to going into or coming out of hometime (here in freight hungry California). Other than that, the X on my CDL and the little blue book with my picture in it have dispatch throwing loads at me like it's going out of style. This last time out I started with a short-short-short week and then went looong.

I was a week late getting home, but that was only because I agreed to take a HM load up to Edmonton, AB. Miles there. Then I got onto a load from south WA state to Nashville. Miles there. Three solid weeks at 2900+ miles is good stuff.

I'm not broke anymore and I don't have to pay for the fuel or the repairs on the truck. I'm intentionally patient and courteous with dispatch, and if I'm irked, I vent respectfully.

I feel like I made a good choice. I'm going to stop sounding like a recruiter now, but there's a reason you've got even odds of finding a Marten driver who's happy here. Some people are never satisfied, some people know a good fit when they find it.

Again, Detroit, clarify what PWS means, and maybe we can help.

 

Saienga, I agree with what you have said. Every sad sack driver story I have every heard in the last 18 yrs if you listen close the driver caused his own pain. They think the company/dispatcher owes them something. But I quite trying to tell them where they went your and how to get more miles out of a company.

PWS = Physical Wellness System also know as a PWT. The T is test.
You know, The weight lifting they have you do before they send you to the Doc's office.

To answer the question. Martens isn't to bad. They just want to make sure you don't have any problems doing the job. If you can get in and out of the truck several times a day. grab the chains and walk around the truck and get into the trail from the ground then you will be fine. If you can't crawl up into a refer trailer from the ground then you should fine some where else to work.

 

Roger. Yeah, it's about like breaking down a pallet of boxed meat. Not easy, but not super hard.

The squat lifts left me a little sore, though.

 

All I can say is that when I hired on, I got run to DEATH with the trainer (4k+/wk for 8 wks running for Chris), then when I got my own truck I went down to 1.5-1.8k (in '06). My first FM was Ms. Rud. I talked to Bernie wanting to quit and got put back with Chris. From the middle of '06 to the end of '08 I NEVER saw less than 2.8k and averaged 3k/wk. Then Chris, after 21 years (guess I shoulda read the handwriting on the wall), quit. They put me back with Ms. Rud. My miles went back down to 1.5 - 1.8k/wk. After five months of speaking calmly with her and asking if she could "ramp things up" I finally called and told her I couldn't afford to work for her anymore, and that I was about to have my car repo'd and that my wife and newborn son were about to be evicted from our apartment. Those two bills weren't the only ones, sprint was raping me too, and diapers are expensive. She labelled me as "difficult" for DARING to question her ability as a FM. Within six months I was no longer employed there. I'm taking more home per week on UNEMPLOYMENT than I ever did driving for Ms. Rud.

Kabar is telling the truth though about having your haz-mat endorsement. You WILL get utilized more. I can also say that if he has his AND can go to canada, then he probably IS getting the miles he's claiming, much as it irritates the bejesus out of me.

 

Your FM is where you fly or crash, for sure.

Full disclosure, I've said positive things about my time at Marten, and I do have HazMat, do go into Canada, and I've got a TWIC. I know I'm getting more miles because of that, but that makes a certain amount of sense, doesn't it?

 

I have my HazMat and a TWIC but I don't do Canada. The FM dose make all the difference. I have Joan W. and I love her. Not everyone can get along with her but I work hard, do my job right and up date her every morning and anytime there is a change. Even if it's just to say good morn'n everything is running good and on time. She likes this.