Mercer or landstar

Right, Right.

I pick up and deliver and live in Texas, but make most of my money elsewhere.

Do make an educated decision on your own.

Let me know when you pass through Austin. I'm home about 5 months out of the year. Chances are I could buy you lunch.

 

Brick, of course the ownership of the trucks is not overtly flaunted and is kept a loosely guarded secret. Many know it but few could prove it. You're right, I've never had the interest or motivation to go out and gather evidence to prove it. Good luck to them. That's Capitalism!

Personally, I didn't get back into trucking because it's so profitable. I know many better ways to earn money! Thank God that everyone isn't doing everything with the same motive of profit. If I wanted to be in the trucking industry and make a lot of money I'd become a broker.

Anyway, getting preeeeetttyy far off topic...

 

The good buddy system of agent "politics" is not for me.. Here at Mercer a new guy has just as good of a chance to get a good load as a 15 year guy..

(The 15 year guy has the advantage in knowing shippers and areas to go to and who's board to jump on when they get there.. OR plain old deadhead somewhere else and get another good load)..

As for my decision to go DD vs SD.. There is good and bad.. I feel overall I drive less, but when I do work I make more.. SO all in all my revenue isn't changing. I feel I make more profit..

I am still in the process of doing my taxes and compiling my yearly expences.. I'll have some real #s in a week or so.. I have noticed I tend to sit a LOT more.. My fuel milage realy stinks.. with loads on I have gotten 3.5 mpg.. (high, wide, and heavy)... My empty weight is now 42,000 (w/ my flip.. I always carry it ya never know when you might need it).

1 more thing about LS and I'll let it pass the soapbox to someone else haha.. As for proving that agents have their own trucks... I loaded for a LS agent a lot.. We got to know each other and he was the one that enticed me to put an app. into LS in the first place.. He was the 1 that confirmed that agents own trucks.. That they hold loads for their buddies... My family and friends just confirmed that when they went to work for them..

At Mercer agents can get in real trouble if they attempt to do that.. ALL loads must be put in the system, the system generates the trip #, and order #.. A truck cannot be dispatched on a load till it has a # assigned. Then that load is ran by the computer NOT a person.. The only thing the dispatchers do is call you and offer freight, they have no control over loads. (They can set "preferances".. Things like special equipment you carry, states you want to go to, weight you can carry, tarps, ramps, container locks, deck height, deck length, ect. to help match loads to you).

Therefor if your truck "preferances" are not set right loads can sneek by you.. Like a deadhead preferance can be set.. (I like to keep mine wide open.. Like 600 - 1000mi. depending on where in the country I am ) Or weight.. If you can only scale 40,000 OR that's all the weight YOU want to haul.... Then a load that weighs 41,000 won't even be offered to you. C what I mean??

I'll shut up now and let someone else jump in.... haha.

 

If you don't think that you have a Good o'boy system there at Mercer, will then more power to you.
But it's there and everywhere else that someone needs another truck to haul a load.

It's no secret that Landstar Agents have their own trucks. Some have more than twenty. You don't have to pull for them. Or if all their trucks are under loads you can pull the left overs.
Some left over’s pay 2.5 bucks or so per mile.
Sometimes they don't want to send their trucks far so that gives the load up for someone else.
There are plenty of agents out of the 1400 plus agents that don't have any trucks.

Mercer agents do have their own trucks. Just not in their own name.
It's nothing new. Been going on everywhere for years from what I've seen and heard.

 

Well, I am not totaly ignorant of the good buddy system.. I know it can be done # Mercer as well as anyone.. It's just that it is a LOT harder to do. Agents can get into real trouble by trying to go behind the scenes and bypass the protocols in place. Mercer is a LOT smaller than LS, so their agent network is smaller.. I know a few agents have trucks on w/ Mercer.. I just don't know any that have a fleet of trucks, just maybe 3 at max..

The way loads are generated, and dispatched is done electronicly.. It makes holding onto a load and giving it to a buddy or your own truck harder.. I'm not saying it cannot be done, It's just not easy. A lot has to do with YOUR preferances in the system. A agent can say a load weighs 50,000... and it realy doesn't. Then that load can blow by everyone till it reaches "that guy" who has his preferances set # being able to haul 50k.. Everyone else won't even know about that load. BUT.. agents can't do that verry often for fear of getting caught, and mgmt does not condone that type of stuff..

Knowing your preferances, and having an accurate listing of equipment, your min. rate per mi., and your acceptable dead head miles, and where you want to run.. will play a major role in what loads you are offered more than who you know.. OR the "good buddy system".. IF you say you will not run NYC for instance.. and that is in your screen, then you'll never ever get a offer for a load into NYC.. Even if it pays $8000... Thats where your working relationship with your coordinator / dispatcher comes in. (Having a lap top helps.. Mercer is gradualy going more and more electronic, it won't be long now and people will be able to select loads off the internet).

 

Landstar. you have 2 years over the road so you still got alot to learn about trucking but everyone does you get out of it what you put into it.If we were all smart we would have chose a different proffession but oh well this is the life we choose.

 

I've never been with mercer. A friend was and he had great things to say about them. All I can say about landstar is I bought a truck from a guy who was leased there before the repo people came for it.

 

Im leased to Mercer I just wish i went there years ago i pull a flatbed and have made very good money with them Theres no force dispatch which i really like im well pleased with them Good luck!

 

thats right skeet, i love ol mercer too. just got to be a driver and not a steering wheel holder.