truck driver

diesel mechanic

shuttle driver

dispatcher

liaison

Midwest Logistics Systems

This company would not be a bad company to work for except for what was mentioned in the "Cons" section below. The manager was cool and professional, but certain dispatch members in the Lima terminal were awful. Some were professional but others cared about nobody else except for making sure loads got out no matter what by the people assigned to them. This also includes trying to force you to run in extremely poor weather even if that includes Level 3 emergencies (If you don't, your job will be threatened.) or even taken your loads away and giving them to others causing you to have a short paycheck. 
The delay times weren't the greatest. No communication from the customer to dispatch to the truck driver in this department. The trucker's time is valuable. All time working for the company should be paid. No factory or warehouse or some other kind of business would not compensate you for your time spent with them except for volunteer work. You are on their time and not yours. This includes ALL delay times going through the Honda gates (could sit 20-40 minutes average per time with the exception of MAP's train before getting through), waiting at Honda for a trailer, and waiting at other customer's sites for trailers. Communication should be given to start later if the first customer won't have a load ready for an hour or longer instead of having you start to run there and sit for free for the first half an hour running your hours up. 
The diesel, automatic Volvo trucks weren't bad. However, the automatic CNG trucks were horrible. Don't try to back a trailer with one of them into a spot because there was no backing slowly. The trucks would just take off on you. There was no "creep" mode. However, while driving down the road, they were extremely slow. Very few mechanical issues. Most of those issues were very minimal and could be taken care of quickly at the Marysville terminal. 
Anyway, it is a shame because I don't think the company would be too bad if these issues were taken care of. Overall, the people and customers I worked with were cool. Not too much drama there. Just do your job and go home.   

Fantastic place to work at if you are seeking to get experience and learn how to back a trailer up as you will drop and hook up to 10 times a day. But thats where the good news ends. Management,especially at the St Paris,OH terminal is a joke as the boss thinks he is untouchable and mostly is,so calling corporate does absolutely nothing to discipline the boss for his very unjustified and wrong actions. They will hand out over half of the somewhat better paying and longer routes to outside carriers and have their own company drivers starve. Trucks are written up with problems and the inspection sheets are thrown away with the truck not getting fixed. If the truck does go to their maintenance facility its often not fixed correctly. Trucks are knowingly ran 20,000+ miles over on a PM all the time. Absolutely no room for advancement. Seniority means absolutely nothing,a temp hired from Pro Drivers or Transforce gets treated better than their own company drivers. You have to fight to get your breakdown pay and thats IF they decide to pay it,regardless if management can clearly look at your E log and see the truck hasnt moved from its location in 2 hours because its broke. Loads pay 10% if that. Their are no pay raises unless management likes you because you are 50+ and share similar interests. If you ask to be moved up a time slot you will get moved back. Night time lead driver will send other drivers home and steal loads for himself making it impossible to make even $700 gross a week which is a laughable wage. AM drivers get treated much differently than PM drivers. Health insurance covers just about nothing. Their are no out of route miles paid. No matter the amount of work you do there,its never enough and never appreciated.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part is nobody bothers you. I had several problems with a dispatcher that was doing alot of shady stuff and lying about things, but HR got right on top of it and took care of the situations going on. HR & the Safety man is super nice and care about the drivers. Really this job is pretty good if you don't mind running over night. You just go in, do your job and go home. The trucks were pretty new & good before I left, but nasty lazy drivers were trashing them out and not keeping them clean. Descent pay, perks & bonuses.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
When bad dispatch is hired. The bad ones usually fade out eventually.  Other then that, overnight storms can get pretty disturbing. Sometimes you have to wait on your load coming or going. Most routes are drop & hook which a good thing. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
After the main issue with a dispatcher was quickly taken care of, their was another over night dispatcher that was really nice and excited when he 1st started, but quickly turned into a jerk with a bad attitude.  Other then that the TM was good, the day dispatch was good and the original over night dispatch was good and I believe is back at it. Most drivers were pretty nice, but some don't speak and just do their thing. Overall laid back, chill and a good local job.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Connect with the incoming load driver for meet time. They drop, you hook, they grab a different trailer and go. You grab their dropped trailer, pre-trip, connect with your meet-up driver, and depart the yard. Meet up with your swap at a truck stop, swap trailers, pre trip, stop for fuel and def. Head into yard, post trip, drop trailers and both inbound & outbound, you must remember to grab and swap the Bol envelopes before & after.

● Work-life balance
Work-life balance at Midwest Logistics Systems is working 65 hours a week and it's NEVER enough for them. But you have to work those ridiculous hours to make just $1100 a week which is laughable in this industry.

● Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at Midwest Logistics Systems are too low for the amount of headaches you deal with and the hours you work. 60+ hour work weeks as a CDL driver should be alot more than $1100 a week. Health insurance is terrible and covers hardly anything. You don't get PTO days. However you do get lots of vacation time as this company hauls for auto manufacturers.

● Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at Midwest Logistics Systems, I think,or more like know, if the automotive industry collapses you are not working and making money.

● Management
In general, managers at Midwest Logistics Systems listen to ONLY people who whine and cry the most. They love people that are brown nosers, especially at the St Paris terminal. If you have a legitimate issue or complaint HR will simply laugh at you and do absolutely nothing. Actually you will get punished for speaking out. This is a job you must come in and simply not care about, because they don't care about you!

● Overall
My experience working at Midwest Logistics Systems showed me absolutely how a trucking company should not be ran. Great place to get your experience out of school but that's it. Get your year in and run. Their is no advancement in this place. Pay is frozen in the Bush era.

I have been working for this company for some time now. During that time, I have had almost every route I was assigned canceled or lost to a competitor, leaving me waiting for new routes that never show up. Alternatively, a route that runs 5 days a week might suddenly only run 2 or 3 days. On the other hand, you could get classified as a 'floater,' covering random routes or doing small tasks. Just don't get mad that you can work 14 hours and make the same amount of money as if you had worked 4. In addition to that, you get no sick days and will lose your performance bonus if you take 3 unplanned days off. As if that wasn't disappointing enough, you don't get to pick when you get paid for vacations. The company has 2 shutdowns every year, one in July and one in December, during which you can get paid for your vacation. So, if you want to take a week of vacation in August, it would be unpaid time off.
However, it's not all bad. The pay is route-based but averages around $22-$25 an hour, depending on the route you get and how long it is. The company also offers really good benefits and has newer trucks. If it weren't for the severely inconsistent routes, I would say it's not that bad. It truly is one of the easiest places to work for. Almost everything is live unload and load, with drop-and-hooks in the mix. I do give a warning though. If you are hired for a route and find out that it was "Not what they had in mind" don't say I didn't warn you. 


Typical day? Check your truck, pull all your loads to and from the customer.
 
What I learned? Long work hours because of poor Management. The owners could care less about you or your home life. The trucks like most companies are junk and run down.  They expect you to run illegal because the trucks only run 68MPH and you can't do all your runs in the amount of time they want you to do it in. They want you to make them all the money you can and at the same time they keep finding ways to take your "Bonus" away from you. They will lie to your face when you ask them what you're getting paid for and what you're not, or what route your on. The company has a HIGH turnover rate because of all the lies and deception from the manager/supervisor. 

Management? They (He) thinks everything is a joke.  If you really need something from him you may want to do it yourself if you want it done.

Workplace culture? If you're not in the click then you're a nobody.
Lots of favoritism. The boss will give some temps hours, runs and days off over a full time employee.  


The hardest part of the job? The job is only as hard as you make it.

The most enjoyable part of the job? You get one week off in July and two weeks off around Christmas. You only get paid for that time off if you have vacation time to cover it.

First job I had that nothing was discussed or covered in orientation about the company and your position. Orientation was just to fill out direct deposit and finish videos. Every question I had went unanswered because the answer is always I don’t know. Blind leading the blind. They put the new drivers on the routes that are unbelievably long to meet a relay driver. You drive 5 hrs and 10 mins to upton Ky while the relay driver only drives two hours to meet you. You are forced to beat your clock every night especially if relay drive is late. I rarely have to take a big day if I’m local. That’s the thing the route isn’t local it is dedicated but if they can find a fool to keep doing it then they are not going to help the drivers. The people with seniority get the shorter runs. Poor equipment. Looks nothing like the website pictures. Company has mostly sleeper trucks that are so nasty and old. They are all weather company so it doesn’t matter how bad they want you on the road. Up to you to be stupid of not however. Say the Kentucky run is only 10 hrs but in reality you will have less than 20 mins on your clock. Turn over rate is high because they run their KY drivers to death. If you can’t get the Tallulah Louisiana run than find something else.

Worked there for 4years Was a great company to work for at first then as time went on I started seeing there true colors they only care about them selves I got dot level 1 and got a ticket because of there log system of choice didn’t send over my tractor and trailer inspections over to officer’s computer with my logs with where all done correctly I didn’t get reimbursed till 5 months later for it and they never fought to get it off my record and and there’s a lot of favoritism there so unless you kiss butt good luck getting anything done you need even time off well I finally put my 2 weeks notice I found a higher paying job to better my family and I and they acted kool with it well the last day of the first week into it I asked hey will I be getting my last week of vaca I still had and they screwed me outta it so needless to say they only got one week from me since they keep my money I earned and worked my butt off to earn after 2years you get 2weeks vaca that you can’t even use when you want kinda messed up they make you use it forth of July and Christmas there’s a bunch more I could say about them anyways good luck

Turn & Burn of the same ole , same ole daily grind feeding the Honda & Toyota Machine ! Once you have seniority the pay gets a little better but hardly competitive. The New equipment makes up for the lack thereof. If you work the north east you'll be hounded to get Cross Border Certified which isn't bad going up into Canada it's the coming back to your home country which 75 % of the time literally sucks , right along with the constant waiting. ( For instance the long long back ups that start at Detroit during peak hours ,where 1 to 5 mile backs leave you a sitting duck on interstate 75 , where all to often there's that one car or even worse that one Semi not paying attention wrecks havoc on the entire ordeal.) The tip of the iceberg is "Lake Effect Snow Storms / Squall's"  this is where you realize especially with the mandated E Logs now that it's just not worth it . It's tough enough surviving but this is where you'll learn to Fight for such ! Weather has zero effect on feeding The Machine ( meaning Honda or Toyota Factories(( The Machine)) It wasn't till working here that one will begin to grasp the shear volume of freight it takes to continuously run such a behemoth !

Midwest Logistics Systems was one of the best jobs that I have ever had. I regret to this day leaving this company. They treat their drivers with dignity and respect. Dispatchers help with any problem you may face. Mechanics are always willing to help, especially if you are loaded and find an issue before you leave the yard. You knew each day what you were going to be doing and where you were going. One downside was the phone app that they used for elogs. Big Road was the name. It would often mess up while you were driving or they would not have enough phones to go around, so you either had to download the app to your personal phone (which they did not really want you to do) or you had to wait and undetermined amount of time on a phone to return with another driver. Management was fair and my paychecks were always in the bank when they were supposed to be.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 6 salaries reported	$1,038 per week
Diesel mechanic 11 salaries reported	$16.45 per hour
Shuttle driver 10 salaries reported	$1,194 per week
Dispatcher 8 salaries reported	$47,344 per year
Liaison 9 salaries reported	$875 per week

Working at Midwest Logistics Systems: Company Overview and Reviews

Midwest Logistics Systems

Midwest Logistics Systems Ratings

Popular jobs at Midwest Logistics Systems

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected