mercer transportation

According to recruiting the turnover is about 30%. In orientatuon they said the same thing and added that the fleet is about 2400 trucks and it stays about that size so 800 come and 800 go. Many guys that have been here a number of years will say thats been the numbers for a long time. Also heard it from contractor relations and my coordinator. I agree with what rstewart said too.

 

Oh, and even though that number sounds horrible, and would be most industries, its actually pretty good in the trucking industry.

 

Never seen the front of my truck come off so fast Engine is getting total overhauled.

 

Do you really think a lot of people aren’t cut out for Mercer’s super complex system? It’s not that complicated, & if a person is that overwhelmed they can have a Coordinator.

 

People that leave Landstar & go back to Mercer are probably inept at running their own truck. At Landstar you have to be more independent.

 

The only one with hard factual numbers would be the company employees that track that. As contractors we can only go by what they tell us and compare it to the numbers on the side of the trucks on recent hires. Personally I think it's a bit closer to averaging 1k a year. That's basing it off my truck number and hire date vs the new hire numbers. Some years it's a little lower and some a little higher. Im not dure where the 800 number comes in, but I've never gone to Louisville and asked them what ther turnover is. That's their business. I stay out of their business and they stay out of mine.

As for you signing on here my advice is the same it's been for nearly 10 years. When it comes to general flat bed freight we all have the same customers and the rates all pay practically the same. So no matter who you sign on to, you are gonna be pulling the same freight for the same rates. So in my opinion it boils down to which flavor of bs can you stomach cause every company had its bs. Right now Mercer bs goes down a little easier than landstar/bennett/daily/admiral merchants. I suggest you look into all of them and decide which flavor of bs is your preference.

 

You over estimate the intelligence level of the average owner operator. Also I think the guys that struggle the most are the ones who most rely on their coordinators. I doubt any of the coordinators really understand the costs involved or the difference between one load and another. They only look at total truck pay and per mile. Example of two loads: One goes to Cincinnati and one goes to Denver. Both 1k miles. Denver pays 2.50/mile, cinci pays 2.20 Equal weight and both tarp. Obviously all of us owners know Cincinnati is the better load because of reload potential and it's even worth giving up 30 cpm for. But most coordinators are gonna see that extra 300 bucks and think it's the best load because they don't think about the next load.

 

Its not about being a complex system but personality. Now theres plenty of guys that change because one place has more or less of something they want but theres a lot of people who jump from having a dispatcher that tells them what to do and they get a flat rate then have problems when the rates vary and its all on them with no one else to blame if its not what they expected. Some just like a flat rate and dont want to have to think about it. Really doesnt matter, different strokes and all. But to read this thread for the last few months youd think its just all mercers fault and its simply not true.

 

I don't think it's any different than it ever was. A handful crying the sky is falling and it's terrible here while the rest of us plug along doing our thing. The only difference is the names change.

 

Could be. I read the whole thread before coming to mercer and it would deteriorate here and there but always came back around. Seems like its stuck right now. Maybe it feels that way because ive been hearing it face to face with guys too. Thinking since my number is a couple years old now newer guys want to come up and talk more? In person the conversation goes better than it does on here.