Mercer Transportation Co., Inc. - Louisville, Ky.?

LMAO, WOW Someone is full of it !!!!!
So you re loaded without waiting in California uh ??? You just proved one of my points !!! THANK YOU
Mercer says in orientation and in the CONTRACT first in and first out. Very UNLIKELY that no one was there other than you, so how did you get a load without waiting in line ??? Either your a small 4 digit truck that is a good ole boy or your telling BS...

I would haul 48K to not have to sit a week or so, as I'm sure many others drivers would also. I still have access to the Mercer board and I compare rates...... Mercer does not have as many high paying loads compared to where I'm at now. Mercer does not have as many loads as where I'm at now. Again , YES Mercer does have their fair share of good paying loads. A good friend of mine is still there making GREAT money running short hauls out of Chicago area. He lives there and is home every other night and great rates. My other friends who are there ( 6 ) like to run long haul . They are thinking about quitting as the rates are low and they sit.
Why oh why does most truck stops in California , Washington,Oregon and Florida have back rows called MERCER ROW ???? Go to the TA in Lodi,Ca , Barstow , CA , etc and tell me there's no Mercer trucks sitting.... You would be lying lmao

Skateboardman , if you been out here 33 yrs and you feel you know it all as you sound like you think you do , it is time to retire. If your a special driver at Mercer and you are making money I"M HAPPY for you. You are the minority. But DO not get on here and judge others who you have no clue on our personality , work ethics or knowledge in this industry. If you like Mercer , great for you. From my personal experience and from the experiences from 6 other people and other former operators, Mercer is a terrible Company. When a Company makes you sit for a week or more because they DO NOT have enough freight or it is too cheap of rates , then something is wrong. When the same exact load I pick up from my current Company pays .27 or more a mile then Mercer , something is wrong. I guess with your logic , it is the drivers fault uh ?? By the way, you call someone a fool in your last post ??? Learn how to make proper sentences and know when to capitalize, you might look more professional.

 

How is it anyones fault but the driver, if driver sits for a week or longer waiting on a load?

 

deputy881, see that the problem with you. you see things that arent there. and your reading comprehension is lacking.

you apparently missed the point of my post. i only went to california to begin with because of the rate i got going out, i would not have went otherwise. with what i got going out i could have come back empty or part back if need be. other than a rate like that i wouldnt go to california.

i also posted that i got the load i did because of the weight, i was 15th in line when i got it. but when i went out there i was prepeared to stay a week with the rate i got. NO ONE ELSE COULD OR WOULD HAUL 48,000 they passed on it and i got it, no good ol boy deal at all.

fact is if someone knows its hard to get loaded in california and they keep taking loads and sitting there whose fault is it??

and as far as calling someone a fool, i didnt do that at all. rockyroad74 stated in his post for me to "enlighten us fools" , i just addressed him as he addrressed himself when i said "so fool" in my post. i was speaking to him, he is the one who included you in the fool category with """us fools". you will have to take that up with him.



and no i am not a 4 digit truck, i am a zip code truck. been there little over a year and a half after running my own authority for 14 years and 8 trucks, 2 of mine and 6 leased on.

this year at tag renewal i dropped to the 37 state tag as i see no need to run west, i do plenty well without going there and sitting. and i have never denied the fact that if you go west you will sit or if ya go deep into florida, but if you know that and keep doing it, it IS the drivers fault.

i did over 200,000 with mercer on 105,000 total miles loaded and empty my first year, so far this year jan 1 to may 31 with a 12 day off period in may i am at 94,000 on 43,500 total miles. i have picked up the pace a little.

it just that after 33 years if you make it that long you learn where to go , when to go there, when a 2.00 a mile to a 2.00 reload area is better to take than a 2.69 mile load to an area with bad reload options.

fact is, here just like at landstar , the driver picks his loads, if you get bit in the arse, you did it to yourself.

i can also find 6 guys that used to be with landstar that didnt like them and think they suck.

the point is , for many reasons, some folks just dont fit with certain companies, hard to explain sometimes on why it wont work with one company while it will with another.

my experience with the trl lease at mercer has been the exact opposite of yours, for example. i couldnt be happier with it. anytime i have had a problem i have had no problem getting it resolved.

the thing you got to do is find somewhere that fits and make it work for you. mercer works for me, it also works for many others, the same way with landstar works for many and doesnt for others.

and its no really a surprise that landstar has more freight than mercer, it would be expected from a much larger company.

they are alike in many ways and not so in others.

i dont need to retire, my old behind has still got at 10 more years of flatbedding in me.

and if all you can fault me for is not capitalizing and improper sentence structure then i am doing all right, because apparently you cant contradict me when it comes to trucking. after all, i am a owner operator not an english teacher. 10/4

 

i do like when the only real comeback someone has on the internet forums is to critique someones spelling or sentence structure. it just shows they have no real argument and grab at straws.

when in fact i tend to think faster than i can type , and simply dont bother with capitalization at all, on an internet post , i see it as a waste of time. i guess since we may be graded on punctuation and such , perhaps i should begin to do it right. no, the heck with it

oh well, another day , another good laugh

 

HAHA I really don't even know where to start......

First of all , just because you are an owner operator does not mean you can not use proper pronunciation and proper sentences. Why think your just an owner operator ? Also ,if you can read statements and fully understand what is being said , you then might be able to respond properly.

Now , yes the owners choose where to go. You said that you never sit, stated in post # 42. Then you said that IF you go to California you are prepared to sit a week because the rates are good going out.... HHHMMM now , if a load pays good going out and you end up sitting a week, is it really a good load out to California ??? NO it is not. ( yes I know you said you re loaded quicker ) A week sitting is a week of lost revenue.That way of thinking is absurd . Now you say Landstar is bigger so no surprise has to the amount of freight.... True , however why is the VERY SAME loads on the avg. .25 or more cents a mile cheaper ???
Also , why on earth does Mercer have anywhere from 7 to 15 people a week going through orientation if they DO NOT have enough freight for these people to stay busy ?? As previous post comments , Mercer has rows in truck stops called " Mercer row " . In multiple states !
If you would take the time to understand what is in my previous posts you would know that I also said " some like Mercer and some do not " . I also previously stated Mercer has its good freight and its cheap freight. Has much more cheap freight then bad.... I check the Mercer load board frequently and I compare rates.

As far as the trailer lease . Yes ,some people do not have the credit and can not get their own trailer. That is fine. A lease purchase is designed to benefit the carrier not the owner operator. Most of the Utility 48 ft. flats are way over priced. It is a basic 48 flat with aluminum deck and steel frame ,steel wheels and 2 boxes. At the rate they charge you can buy a rentinour , minus the finance charge. Also , the contract of the lease purchase is fraudulent. Meaning, if you quit and turn in the trailer you are charged for the wear and tear of that trailer. The contract says that money goes to the wear and tear of equipment. When a owner gets issued a used trailer from Mercer , some DO NOT have new tires or brakes , yet the previous leasee was charged for the wear and tear. Mercer kept the money charged and does not always put that money back toward the equipment on that trailer. That my friend is FRAUD , and the State Attorney General for the State of Kentucky has reviewed the contract and also agrees that it is fraud. Will anything happen ? DOUBTFUL ....

I also had my own authority and was successful , a pain in the rear though. I know where to and where not to run. Sure does help when a Company has freight though , especially freight that will let me be profitable. I'm on a load from Northern Cali right now paying $2.49 a mile to the truck and weighing 15K . I unloaded yesterday and re loaded today. I'm not parked for days on in at a truck stop. I sit at home..... I believe EVERY week should be profitable, not just a good paying load to somewhere so I can maybe sit a week. It IS NOT a good load if you end up sitting for several days. That is BAD business....

Skateboardman , in post 42 magnum1 brought to your attention that you miss read his post as well.... Maybe you are just an owner operator making that big money at Mercer. You are one of the few and proud. I applaud you if your making a couple hundred thousand a year at Mercer, doubtful though. Especially with the logic that you were prepared to sit a week in California cause you had a good load going there.

Lastly , yes some do not not like Mercer and some do not like Landstar..
Landstar has no coordinator to assist and call you about loads like Mercer does. Landstar does not do much for you. It is all up to you to manage your truck , business , finding your loads and anything else involved in your business. Many a drivers can not make it here. I'm happy to say that I can and am. If your happy at Mercer that is awesome. Your experience at Mercer is way better than what I had. Just because you are happy there does not mean that your smarter LMFAO. Re read my posts sometime....

OH YEA , my only comeback is not just to criticize your grammar... and I'm not grabbing at straws. I have facts behind my grievance with Mercer. Many FACTS.

Be safe and try not to sit too much in " Mercer row " haha

 

Deputy, My reply to Magnum1 was not just about this thread. It was the end result of many other posts he had made, all of them complaints. So, I miss understood nothing. My experience with Mercer has been far different than yours. The trailer purchase has worked out well for me, and i got a used one with 26 payments left when i got it , I have 7 left, that should answer any questions about my truck number.

I also perfectly understand everything you have posted, I also loaded and reloaded every day this past week. In fact on a power only deal , paying 2.34 a mile round trip going out loaded and coming back empty, for at least 2 more months. It is working out real well.

The last load I took to california paid 9200 to the truck and delivered in Hayward, Ca and Travis afb, California about 40 miles apart and then I reloaded at Fresno to Houston for 2.00 a mile. I ended up with 6900 left off the load to the west coast, thats where you misconstrue what i stated. I stated I only go to the west coast if the load pays enough for me to sit a week if the situation occurs AND it also must pay enough that if I sit, it doesnt affect the money goals I set for myself.

I have made maybe six trips to the west with Mercer , the longest sit was 2 days out there. Maybe I am just lucky. As another poster said, he doesnt go west any longer, he runs a midwest type deal, keeping east of I-35. Thats been my thing also for quite a number of years. I will also be first to admit that if leased to Mercer and you want to only run east and west, you are a nut. I rarely go east of Houston, Dallas less than that, but I do sometimes run a Savannah to Tulsa and back to Savannah whenever I can get it.

Also in 2011 i did 204,000 gross on 105,000 total miles loaded and empty, so far this year thru May31, I am over 90,000 avg 18,500 dollars a month on a weekly avg of 2100 miles. about 42,000 miles loaded and empty. In May I took off for 12 days for my sons graduation and spent some time with him before he left for the army as he will be gone six months before he comes back for ROTC at college.

As I said some places just dont fit everyone, some leave Landstar and go other places, heck some even like CRST. You have stated in your posts how your experience with Mercer was terrible and everything about the trailer lease was a rip-off, I have stated my experience with Mercer has been just the opposite, the trailer lease has worked out fine, I have never had a problem I couldnt work out with someone.

I also simply would not have leased a trailer if it hadnt had new tires and brakes and wasnt in good shape, the one I leased was in excellent shape. Mercer is a good fit for me at the moment, hope things work well for you in the future at Landstar.

Its not a case of being smarter at all, Its just having a few years experience of where to go and where not to go, and not being talked into going where I know I cant reload. I just dont shoot myself in the foot. And really , no joke, I am no bullcrapping, I dont sit here, I usually have things planned a load or two ahead all the time.
If i find a rate I like , I book it , I dont worry that if i book to soon something better may pop up. I know what my operation cost are, I have a per mile (figuring loaded AND EMPTY miles together) rate that I hold to. It just works out that way and seems to be working well.

 

Landstar does not haul the same loads for more money than Mercer! That is a fact! Last year I was part of a big crane move out of Oklahoma, got to talk to some very nice Landstar drivers as well as Mercer drivers. Guess what? The Mercer trucks were getting more money to move the exact same boom sections and counter weights. Moved another big crane this year from Minnesota, same thing, Mercer trucks got paid more than Landstar trucks. Now I can tell you for a fact that there is a shipper that HAD some of the best rates for Mercer, and I ran their freight every week. Until the blue star trucks started coming in there, they drove the rates into the ground. We don't hardly get any loads out of there now because your beloved blue star company ran the rates into slave wages.

 

Um , BS !!! I see the Mercer load board EVERY week to compare rates.... I know for a FACT you are wrong.... Mercer does have some good freight , I never said they don't. But is it really good freight if ya sit for a week waiting for another load ???? No , it is not.... I now have 6 friends who have quit Mercer, rates suck out of California and West coast also out of Florida..... Also they got tired of parking at truck stops that have back rows nicknamed MERCER ROW

 

Mercer is a first in first out dispatch.... If theres 100 trucks in California there's no way any driver at Mercer is re loading the same day , even the next day ... I was there for a year with friends that were there longer ..... The trucks parked at all the truckstops do not lie.... Anyone with eye sight can see the MANY Mercer trucks sitting empty. that is a FACT . Again as I mentioned before. Mercer has some good freight and lots of cheap freight... Some like Mercer ,some do not... I know many of the do nots.
If one is happy there , that's awesome.... But let's not exaggerate the facts ....

 

I know there are trucks that sit out there, but I have not. I have always been able to reload the same day or next day.