Has anyone heard good or bad on this company I'm ging to oriantation on the 16 with them . Good ideal or bad?

 

I applied for them several months ago and never heard a word back. From what I've read they seem to be decent enough.

 

Someone posted either here or on another website that Transport America is heading for bankruptsy. I will try to find the source. There was even a newspaper article to back up the information. Supposedly their CEO doesn't have a clue what he is doing and has run the company into the ground. All I can say is be careful.

 

I don't know about the bankruptcy, but there was a post about them being bought by a capital investment company. This is not always a bad thing, I know this because my sister and a partner have their own capital investment company. Basically it is a loan, which all companies generally work from. Very few companies are debt-free. The difference here and the reason why this makes news is because it is actually a change in ownership. The investors become chairman of the board and no major business decisions are made without going through them. You fail to pay, they take control and either sell or disolve the company, leaving the original owner out in the cold. You succeed and full ownership is turned back over to you and all is well. It's kinda like getting a loan and then getting business coaching on top of it.

My sister used to tell me about when she was a corporate lender for a major bank here in Cincinnati. Every Monday morning she would make a $4 Million loan to Rumpke (a major trash company in case you're unaware) just to cover operating expenses. They would generally repay it by week's end, but from time to time they would struggle. She told me that if whe ever said no just once, which she thought about a few times, it would literally bring the company to a halt. To her knowledge they are still getting these loans regularly although she is sure that the amount is larger now. The vast majority of companies out there operate on borrowed funds, especially the larger ones. I'm certain that very, very few of the major players in the transportation industry are debt-free.

With all of that being said, I wouldn't be a bit afraid to sign on with them. As a matter of fact I just received a "pre-hire" and invite to orientation from them today and am seriously thinking about it. They seem to be a very good company with a lot of nice perks. They have the highest layover and detention pay that I have found in the industry which tells me that they probably do not pay it out very much. IMO, they would be more financially sound and probably farther from bankruptcy than someone like Swift, Schneider or Werner. I'd say, if it's a good fit for you, go for it.

Good luck!

 

Our buddy just left them about 2 weeks ago. Low miles, he was starving. Since the economy has slowed they don't have the runs, the bigger companies seem to be getting them all and they are trying to survive on the table scraps which they give to the O/O's then teams. He had 700 miles in four days his last week with them.

 

ooooh, that's not good. Just disregard my previous post then...

Just out of curiosity, I would like to hear from any other T/A drivers to see if this is acrossed the board or just with this guy.

 

Yea me to I leave for Scottburg Ind on Sunday to oriantate with them driving out of Ohio

 

movinit, I'm sorry to hear that. I recall from another thread that your friend enjoyed working for Transport America.

Shaley, good luck -- I hope it goes well for you. They sound like a good company, and I am keeping them on my short list of people I'd like to drive for. Maybe they can pull through this hard time and keep it going.

 

If I get mt time on the road with no problems I can go elsewhere, but i need drive timme and a job was a certified engineer but laid off trying new fallow ups in life. Only way to travel get paid to do it LOL.