Hi,

I'm a Canadian driver from Cambridge, ON. I applied recently to Mercer at the Louisville KY MidAmerica Trucking Show but couldn't find any messages on this board about this company. They pay 75% of 99% of the gross and you have to have your own truck and flatbed trailer. Since I was quick to apply, they said they'd give me $500 towards the purchase/lease of a flatbed trailer (either new or used), and they don't care about the year of your truck... so this seems like a pretty good opportunity. Can someone give me any feedback about them? They're located in Louisville, KY and their website is at www.mercertown.com Thanks!

There is a guy in my town leased to them and he has nothing but good things to say about them. I believe he has been on with them for 3 years now. It seems he is home every other weekend either because he had just unloaded or has a pickup nearby. I have seen him loaded iwth plastic pipe, steel, machinery and military vehicles. hope this helps.

Anytime you lease to a US company make sure they have enough Can. freight to get you back home. I know a couple of guys that did the Mercer thing but they had trouble getting back home. Landstar seems to have more Can brokers.

I applied to 2 companies at the same time: Mercer (USA) and MacKinnon (Canada). MacKinnon is closer to home and if you have your own flatbed trailer they pay even better than Mercer - 82% of the gross!

So, I'm going to start with them in the van division (Cnd$1.12 to 1.30 per mile; higher rate is for going to the North-East USA), and then lease or buy my own trailer and switch to the flatbed division (percentage pay).

I'm talking now to a Carrier Trucks salesman out of London,Ontario about getting a decent used truck.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my query.

Just because they pay a higher percentage does not mean they pay more,82% of a $1 mile is less than 75% of $1.25 a mile if Mercer has better per mile rates,I am not sure what the exchange rate is now,but wouldn't it be better to be paid in American money? 75%us v. 82%cdn

Carrier is almost always overpriced on used trucks and they are hard to deal with. MacKinnon will probably have lot's of work but most of it is cheap. If you just want steady work and mediocre rates you might as well go to Laidlaw. Right now with steel being so slow you want to work for a carrier that hauls more lumber,drywall type of freight. That is if your going to do flatbed work. I bought my first truck from 97 Western Star in Ayr. It was used and it came from Heritage truck lines. They were easy to work with and the truck worked out good. They had all the pertinent repair receipts and I wouldn't hesitate to deal with them again.

mercer is a 100 % o/o/ co. that is a big plus

Well, I've decided to go with a local carrier - MacKinnon. Once I have my own truck and trailer, then I could switch to Mercer. But I don't think they'll have more work or better rates than MacKinnon. Mercer might be good for U.S. drivers as they have a contract with U.S. Army to haul military stuff. But military freight is mostly moved between points in the USA, so it's no good if you're a Canadian citizen: you cannot touch them unless you have a green card or U.S. citizenship.