TMC Transportation, Inc. - Des Moines, Ia.

cplmac2, I will get facts from real life experience as it comes. Being new to trucking does not mean I have no clue as to what makes the world spin. As for drivers being expendable... that is everywhere I would imagine. Pardon the pun here but "I suspect they want those who pull their own weight". I come from a family of drivers but in different parts of the Country, and they have seen and heard the same things about every company they have worked for or with. As many experienced drivers have said here... You make the job what it is! If people go in with a negative attitude and I suspect they will leave with one too and not by choice. I am glad you like your company and hope it works out the way you want. From your comment about experience in hauling weight in precarious situations I take it you must be pretty experienced.

As for their website and from talking with other TMC drivers, it is apparent that they have their act together and have a sense of direction of where they want to go and even though the economy is suffering right now, I believe flat bedding is where business will boom first when we get out of the funk of bailing out Private institutions. Yes, we will always need groceries and refers will always be rolling, but if the plan is to fix our highways, bridges, build new wind generated energy and alike, it will be flatbeds that will be bringing the materials to the workplace.

Lastly, have you ever worked any job that did not have less then desirable people working there too? It is not a private club that only affects the trucking industry... "Like you said....It is all over". If there are #######es that you do not want to have to deal with, then don't! If they are your direct reports, then you need to decide why you feel the way you do and make a decision as too, what if anything you should do about it. I am sure with your experience that you could land most any drivers job if it came down to that, but something drew your interest to them right?

The trucking industry in CA, WA, AZ seems to be doing pretty fair even in our economic slump. Yes there are layoffs, but just like you said... even Wal-Mart is laying people off and they continue to exceed their previous year's sales.

It will turn around... my biggest fear is that fuel prices will skyrocket once again thus causing more issues on top of the ones we are already dealing with.

Thanks for the comments and I hope the loads start rolling in for you!

Be safe driver....

God Bless!

 

I'm just suggesting that you take whats on the company websites with the same grain of salt you would take drivers opinions with. It's one thing to read about things and say "sure I can live with that", it's another thing entirely to actually live with it on a daily basis. You are definitely right about attitude, what you bring to the table has a lot to do with how you take things in. You're also right about flatbeds being the first to see the upturn of the economy, it's always that way. Industry that deals heavily in construction always see economic turnaround benefits first. I hope you are happy with wherever you land, and remember to take your time and be careful, behind the wheel you are the ONLY person you can count on to look after your own ###, that's true in most aspects of life but it's particularly true and important in the commercial driving industry.

 

I am, and will take the data on website with caution, Thanks!

I have yet to commit to any one company as I am in search mode. I spoke to Maverick today and they are not hiring at this time from anywhere close to my area (may hire from East and Southern areas but no commitment to it). The gal said loads are very very slow. She said they do not know what to expect in this economy but hope it turns soon. I posted a list of refer company's in another post as I bumped into it while researching... Many are hiring still I guess....

The list is huge so it will take time for moderator to review and be sure its ok to post... should be under this same section I think.

Thanks for your comments and keep us informed as to how you feel about your company...

God Bless

PS: Watch out for the new snow storm expected to dump 8-10" of snow in the midwest starting Friday night... Be Safe

 

It apperas that TMC is loaded with resumes and qualified drivers as they are starting to slack off on hiring. They have so much interest of long time drivers that the new cdl school grads are not making an impression, or at least this is what I heard from a new student grad a week or so ago. I know a driver there who said that they have actually put some of their recruiters back on the trucks because of economy.

What does this all mean ? Who in the heck knows for sure?

 

Now I'm begginning to wish that I'd never started looking at these blogs. It's just like the CB, one trucker say's one thing and the next driver has a 180 degree differance, and then here comes a freight relocation specialist with split personalities, What To Think???????

Apparently we all know that TMC is currently hiring and firing!

They told me I was approved for the privelage of attending orientation. 200,000 + safe OTR miles and a couple months Local/LTL is my experience but I wouldn't consider myself the best of the best because there's probably plenty of drivers looking for work that have more backing miles than I do going forward.

Somebody tell me what to think so I don't have to figure it out myself....

 

Think happy thoughts and keep in mind that whether a company is good or bad is largely irrelevant right now, work is work and these are the times you dig in bite the bullet and do what you have to do.

 

What fits for one person isn't going to fit for another. Ya just have to look at what a company offers and decide if it fits your personal needs . . . home time, pay, insurance, miles (be sure to try to get a current average, and remember that it is an average), area of service, etc.

The economy has made things very rough in the industry, so if you get an offer from a company, if they have at least some of the things you are looking for, it may be a good idea to grab it.

 

..another thread that has died after 2 months; wonder what's going on as i have been off the internet for 2 months now, come back & find several of the threads i had subscribed to have died.. what's up with the TMC drivers who used to post here??

 

laid off, fired, quit cause no miles. same as all companies right now.

 

LOL not all of us have been laid off, fired or quit. I have not been posting because i have been out on the road working. All is still slow but going good.