mercer transportation

Over here yes. But out west it's all 11 western states. Cali, or, wa, id, ut, nv, az, nm, co, wy, and mt.

And it works a bit different. They have an actual western board, the rules are the same except your position on the main board is held. The instate thing, in order to maintain board position and get the short one you gotta tell the agent or coordinator you only want it if you can hold board position guys behind you can nab it if they take it as a regular load vs hold position.

Edit to give examples:

western board example. Itake a lad from ky to utah. Delivers on Monday October 1st at 8 am. That's my empty time that sets my board position. I grab a load from utah to oregon. Once delivered, my main board position reverts back to oct 1st at 8 am. I can keep running these loads that stay in the western 11 states and my empty time that sets our board position will never change from oct 1st until I get dispatched on a load going back east. This means, if a guy is willing to bounce around out west for a week or two, when a good load pops up going east he is almost guaranteed to have first dibs on it. so those guys that come out west in the middle of october are going to be way behind the guy in my example. They just aren't getting a great load back east.


In state example: If I delivered down in Miami on the 1st, went home for 3 days and see a load from ft myers to tampa paying 500, am number 1 on it. Its a decent load but not worth losing my number 1 spot over so I have the agent commit me with the right code in the computer. A guy that delivered on the 3rd can commit and get the load if he wants it even tho he is farther back on the board than me.

Some say this isn't fair, then again, it's Florida and rates suck, so those of us down here need the little extra advantage. besides, fair or not, it's the way it works. And it applies to every truck, not just those of us that live here.
The guys that do well here learn to use this system to their advantage.

 

@spyder7723 So if I live in Chicago I can run in-state freight in Illinois and keep my position on the board for loads leaving the state?

 

I would assume so, but rates up there are generally good enough you don't need to use these tricks. .

 

At home its 240 miles can be run local, might be 250.

 

In state or does it matter as long as you stay within the 240 miles?

 

One thing about running local: If you want the load and you want to keep your board position, your coordinator has to accept the load with a z behind the load #. then the load is run past the system trucks first, if they all pass it's yours and you keep the board position. If one of the system trucks take it, it belongs to them, but they loose board position. This is kind of a new policy, but I know they have been doing it for the last 3 months in Mid Tn. It does not mater if it leaves the state its 250 miles. Thats the way it works around Nashville.

This has to be accepted by your coordinator, we cant do it on the contractors web. Like I said, your coordinator has to accept the load with a letter z after the load#

 

I did this about 2 months ago and the Birmingham office did not know how it was done, Coordinator had to explain the new policy to them.

 

I use that trick often when I'm home to hold my position but like I've posted before I usually get 7/10 loads I commit in no matter where I'm at because of pre-booking. We have certain areas that's hot for freight so I may wait to grab a load. I don't know how I got that load from Fort Myers paying 2.03 per mile last week. I was sure it was gonna get nabbed. Maybe cause it went to Long Island NY.

 

What @spyder7723 was saying about the western board is right. It's been that way for ever.

 

It would not surprise me if Fl is the way it has always been. I just know the new policy is how it works at home,

Mercer tries hard to tweek things and make things fair for everyone. New hands and old hands alike.