mercer transportation

Gotcha. I live in Florida so same boat. Always number 1 when I'm ready to leave. Nothing wrong with what you and I do. we have learned to make the system work for us. I hear ya about the age thing here at Mercer. I swear half our contractors remember voting for Wilson. personal theory of mine is that a big part of their hiring spree the last few years is cause of their work force average age.

 

I learned very quickly going home every couple weeks was going to be difficult. Nothing I wasn't able to adjust & make it work! You are correct, had I not learned how Mercer works & figured out what will benefit me I would probably be posting about how bad Mercer is, LOL!

Being young here has by far been my biggest battle. Not to mention I look like I just walked out of the Texas state penitentiary (covered in tattoos)!!!!

I have ran into many drivers on the road & about 10% will give me the time of day. I know what I look like & I know that some of the older guys out here generally wouldnt associate with someone like myself. I dont take it personal.

I recognize that Mercer has created an opportunity for myself & my family. So it is difficult hearing someone constantly bad mouthing them. Im not jacked on the kool-aid, but I am appreciative of what I have been able to do.

 

Well you see, you have to have a trailer to pick up freight. I tried just putting it on the fifth wheel but was only able to get on pallet at a time and the customers really wanted me to carry more than one pallet.

 

See that excuse doesn't work. You came here and got a van, and have claimed it was starving you so you bought a step deck. At some point before purchasing that step deck, you had PLENTY of opportunity to spend time on our load board and see what freight paid in the areas you were willing to run. And all the while there is this awesome carrier you could go back to pulling their trailer that not only would pay you mere than what Mercer loads pay, but even pay the tolls!!

These are your statements, made in context, and the logic doesnt add up. That is why no one is taking the statements seriously. Maybe you have left some info out that would paint a clearer picture. But as it stands with the statements you've made, it really just come across as a disgruntled employee looking for things to complain about.

 

Are y'all on the "L" yet?

 

No

 

That's the problem freight was paying well last year, this year it is not paying as well. No one said the carrier I was leased to was awesome. I stated I made better money there. Yes some expenses were higher but its all about NET, not what you get per mile. I can book $2 plus a mile loads all day. But if a load pays $2.00 a mile for a hundred mile, it is not worth $2.00 a mile. If you have a $600 a week truck payment you will not survive pulling loads that gross $500 a day. I did very well the first few months with my step deck. Rates have not recovered from the winter rates. I actually averaged a heck of a lot more than $1.90 a mile. The problem is that there are too many people that are willing to take a crappy load because that have to make a $600 a week truck payment. So agents are going to quote as cheap as possible so that they get the load. The more loads they can book the more money they can make.

 

That also doesn't fly. The same crappy loads have always been here, long before Mercer ok'd guys bringing trucks from quality. And we've always had guys buying brand new trucks with just as high of payments. I don't care who the lien holder is, if it's lease purchase or bank loan, and posts direct from your settlements weekly or a check mailed once a month. 2600 monthly is still 2600 a month.

Side note: how much experience do you actually have with the open deck market?
Open deck freight has always been a very volatile market, when it's good, it's really good, but when it's bad, you better tighten the belt. I promise you, when the real recession sets in, you are gonna look back on today's rates as the good times. Ask anyone that was pulling a flat or step 8 years ago or so when the housing boom collapsed. 2 a mile became a pipe dream, a buck fifty can become the norm real #### fast. those days are going to return. It's not an if, it's a when.

 

$600 a week truck payments?? Wow! That's not good I've seen a lot of those trucks leasing on.. If I had that I would be screwed I've been down all week long.

 

You're talking about attitude, when you're on here calling people pathetic, uneducated, & idiots! Perhaps that's reason guys don't give you the time of day, it's not your age, or your tats!! I'll go ahead and answer you anyway. No I don't have a relationship with agents from TX, I don't live in TX & I don't get to TX much. Apparently that relationship you speak of only works great when you're sitting at home number 1 on the board, well no xxxx! I'm not crying that I'm stuck in TX, remember I'm at home, and home isn't TX.

About my home time, I wasn't aware we are married. If rates are great I don't go home, I stay out! See, I didn't come from a run for the miles sweepstakes company, so I don't put miles on my equipment unless it pays what I want, or I want to go home, and I'm definitely not in the Kevin Rutherford fan club, so I drive empty quite a bit. I'm certainly not claiming poverty either!

If your so superior than the rest of us, you would pick up on what the original disagreement was about in the first place, it certainly wasn't a disagreement about TX rates! I said rates are down, some of us disagree as to the why. I believe there is no shortage of guys that take freight for less than market, you would be one of those guys! See, trucking has been like that before I was here, and it will continue long after I'm gone. Some call my assumption a conspiracy theory & that's part of the back and forth. But go back and read, & compare our per mile average for flats, running the same lanes your flats ran last year, you ran for less genius! You ran for less than Spyder, Skateboard, & Wolfhound with your flats. Ask guys that have pulled forklifts that don't pull them anymore, you run them for less as well genius! That's my complaint in a nut shell, and you're proving me right!

As for the super trucker comment, I suggest you look it up. You fit the mold to a "T". I'm not here giving advice on how to run the same lane for less, that would be you! You shot your mouth of about TX rates, why, I have no idea, then 2 posts later tucked your tail between your legs about TX. You shot your mouth off about $2/mile freight, not one of us said you can't get a $2/mile load, we are talking average. I'm also not questioning whether or not Spyder or Skateboard know what they are doing, they're questioning a couple of us. I never claimed to know everything in this business, but I certainly know my value, and apparently it's higher than yours!

As for bashing Mercer, I love it here, right now! But, if they continue to hire guys such as yourself, willing to run for less, rates will continue to drop, and I will like it less! So now it's your turn, tell me how pathetic, uneducated, & idiotic I am for working less and making more!!