Epes Transport Reviews: SAFER Record, Regional Pay, Home Time

A recruiter says Epes Transport: Greensboro, Southeast lanes, home weekly, and a regional seat that is not 48-state OTR. Then you search the name and land on mixed star ratings, older cents-per-mile complaints, and a SAFER card whose vehicle out-of-service rate sits just under the national average printed on the same page. Look up Epes Transport System LLC in Greensboro before you treat a “home weekly” headline as the whole job.

Pay, home time, and online ratings move. Verify current figures with recruiting, on Indeed, and on the FMCSA SAFER Company Snapshot. Rules change. Verify current requirements at fmcsa.dot.gov before you act on anything in this guide.

Epes Transport safety record: what FMCSA data shows

Start with the federal file. People searching “Epes Transport SAFER” or “Epes Transport DOT number” need the Greensboro motor carrier, not a lookalike. On the Company Snapshot pulled for this article, USDOT 120195 is Epes Transport System LLC at 3400 Edgefield Court, Greensboro, NC 27409, mailing PO Box 35605, Greensboro, NC 27425, phone (800) 869-3737. Entity type: carrier. USDOT status: ACTIVE. Out-of-service date: none. Authority: authorized for motor carrier of property (except household goods) under MC-44128. Authorized for-hire, interstate. If a recruiter hands you a different number, stop.

The same snapshot — FMCSA systems dated 09/09/2026 — lists 896 power units and 993 drivers. MCS-150 mileage is 82,330,045 for 2025, form date 05/12/2026. Cargo checkboxes include general freight and intermodal containers. That is a dry-van and intermodal truckload shop, not a reefer specialist.

U.S. roadside inspections, 24 months before 09/09/2026: 1,434 total. Vehicle 615 inspections, 131 out of service (21.3%). Driver 1,434 inspections, 20 out of service (1.4%). Hazmat 12 inspections, 0 out of service (0%). National averages printed on that snapshot (table dated 08/28/2026) are 22.26% vehicle, 6.67% driver, 4.44% hazmat. Vehicle OOS sits just under the printed average. Driver OOS sits well under it. Hazmat is a tiny sample. That is a rate comparison, not a claim about your next Level I.

U.S. crashes, same window: 0 fatal, 26 injury, 36 tow, 62 total. FMCSA counts involvement in reportable crashes without a determination of responsibility. A fleet this size will show volume. Read the current file yourself.

Canada on the same snapshot: 0 inspections and 0 crashes in 24 months. Do not invent a Canadian average.

Safety rating: Satisfactory, rating date 09/11/2002, review date 08/15/2002, typed Compliance Review. A 2002 Satisfactory line is not a weekly grade. Most carriers never get a new rating unless FMCSA investigates. Walk the fields with our SAFER score company lookup.

Do not mix in the broker file. A SAFER name search for “Epes Transport” also returns USDOT 2248479: same legal name, same Edgefield Court address, MC-741124, authorized as a broker of property, zero power units, MCS-150 mileage 0. That is not the operating fleet. Open SAFER by USDOT 120195 and confirm Epes Transport System LLC with hundreds of trucks.

Who Epes Transport is, in plain terms

Epes is a Greensboro truckload carrier that markets itself as a Southeast private fleet, now under Penske Logistics (epestransport.com). Company copy says the shop started in 1931 in Blackstone, Virginia, as The Transport Company; Epes Carriers of Greensboro bought it in 1987 and renamed it; Penske Logistics in Reading, Pennsylvania, acquired it in 2018. The careers page still calls Epes one of the largest private trucking companies in the Southeast. The homepage also routes visitors toward Penske rental, leasing, and logistics sites. Ask which legal name and USDOT would be on the truck.

The product for drivers is not 48-state OTR. Services listed on the company site: dedicated truckload, drayage, shuttle, truckload, and yard switching. Driver recruiting talks local, regional, and dedicated routes with weekly home time, plus GI Bill on-the-job training for veterans. The public driver job board pulled for this research listed hundreds of openings clustered in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina, with smaller counts in Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and New York. That is a regional map, not a coast-to-coast mega-carrier.

Some “home weekly” ads for North Carolina and Georgia said no Northeast runs. The same job board also listed Northeast regional titles. Those are different boards. Pin down the lane before you treat “Southeast” as a promise.

Pay: regional CPM, then the local hourly seat

Epes posts cents per mile on regional “home weekly” jobs and hourly pay on some local dedicated seats. The figures below are from public Indeed listings and recruiting copy on TheTruckersReport when this article was researched. Rates change. Verify current pay for your role — CPM or hourly, practical vs ELD miles, which board (regional, dedicated, local), the performance add-on, and any weekly guarantee — in writing.

• Regional “Higher Pay Home Weekly” (North Carolina, Georgia, and matching state posts): Indeed showed $0.63–$0.72 per mile. Copy said $0.63 base plus up to $0.09 utilization / performance pay, home weekly (mostly weekends), a pay guarantee (no dollar amount on the post), 75% drop-and-hook, no-touch freight, and full benefits after a waiting period. The same ads said late-model equipment and no Northeast runs.
• Local dedicated (Adairsville, Georgia listing): $25 an hour, home daily, first and second shift, no-touch, weekly bonuses (amount not on the post).
• TheTruckersReport about-page recruiting copy listed dedicated seats at $85,000 a year with home weekends, plus regional language about a productivity bonus and guaranteed weekly miles or pay (verify current).
• TheTruckersReport salary box sat at $500–$2,000 a week with a displayed average near $967 (verify current). User-submitted surveys on that page from 2025 clustered from the mid-$700s to higher dedicated weeks. None of that is your settlement.

Those CPM bands assume the miles on the same posting. A short regional week, a sit for a live unload, or a local hourly clock is not a top-driver year. Recent TheTruckersReport write-ups still talk about $0.52–$0.53 a mile as too low for experienced drivers. That is older or board-specific sentiment next to the newer $0.63 recruiting floor. Ask which rate is on your offer, and whether miles are ELD, practical, or hub-to-hub.

Hiring bars on the regional posts used here: age 21, Class A, about one year of comparable experience in the last few years (or two years in a longer window), a limited moving-violation / accident count, and a DOT physical and drug test. Local dedicated copy was similar, with a slightly different accident lookback. Requirements change. Verify current hiring bars with the company.

What drivers actually say — including why people quit

Public review pages are not a verdict. Indeed’s Epes Transport System, LLC reviews, updated 09/02/2026, sat at 3.2 out of 5 across about 230 write-ups (verify current; the page also showed 228 in the review list). Pay scored about 3.1; work-life about 3.2; management about 2.8. Indeed’s own summary listed energizing work and meeting goals as likes, and fair pay, belonging, and trust as improvement areas. Recent titles in the mix include “Very low Compensation and Undervalued,” “Gets me home weekly,” “Don’t get paid for actual mileage,” “Good Company/Poor Dispatch System,” and “Not enough miles.” Older titles also include “Good pay home daily” and people who stayed because the work was steady. Weigh recent patterns.

The stay-or-quit split is not mysterious. It shows up in the same few buckets:

• Home time versus the check. Recurring Indeed and TheTruckersReport notes treat weekly (or daily) home time as the reason to stay, and pay as the reason to leave. That matches a regional Southeast shop better than a national OTR pitch.
• Which miles get paid. Indeed titles include complaints that settlements do not match actual miles. Get practical vs ELD vs hub miles in writing.
• Dispatch and communication. TheTruckersReport write-ups describe missed appointments, sitting, and little office-to-driver contact. Indeed titles flag a weak dispatch system next to a “good company” line. That is driver sentiment, not an FMCSA finding.
• Equipment and the clock. Recent TheTruckersReport posts mention slow Freightliner Cascadias, live loads and unloads, evening appointments, and driver-facing cameras. Regional home-weekly ads still sell drop-and-hook. Ask which freight you would actually handle.

TheTruckersReport’s Epes page sat at 2.0 out of 5 on 28 reviews (verify current). That sample is smaller and harsher than Indeed. Recurring positives elsewhere in the mix: home on weekends, a local or dedicated seat near home, and steady work. Recurring negatives: pay versus experience, communication, and trucks that feel underpowered on heavy freight.

Who Epes fits — and how to vet it

Epes tends to fit an experienced CDL-A driver who wants Southeast regional or dedicated work out of the Carolinas, Georgia, or Virginia, will trade a national mega-carrier map for weekly home time, and will look up USDOT 120195 before orientation. Company recruiting lists pets, a rider policy, no-touch freight on some boards, and medical benefits after a waiting period. Local hourly seats and regional CPM seats are not the same job.

Look elsewhere if you need 48-state OTR, you need a published weekly dollar guarantee you can check against a settlement, you will not run Southeast regional freight, or you will not re-open SAFER the week you would start. Compare other carrier files in our trucking company reviews hub rather than picking a logo off a “home weekly” ad.

1. Confirm the legal name and USDOT. Epes Transport System LLC, Greensboro, 120195. Not the broker file 2248479.
2. Re-open the SAFER snapshot the week you would start. Authority, vehicle OOS, driver OOS, crashes, rating. Use the SAFER lookup walkthrough.
3. Get pay in writing. Miles or hourly, which board, the $0.09 performance add-on if it still exists, the weekly guarantee, and a sample slow-week settlement.
4. Name the lane. Regional home weekly, dedicated, local home daily — and whether Northeast freight is in or out.
5. Cross-check people, not just the logo. Indeed, TheTruckersReport, and a carrier search on cdlscan. cdlscan is two-sided — carriers review drivers, and you can research the house — and search does not require buying a full report. It will not replace SAFER or the offer letter.

If you have already run for Epes, add a review on cdlscan so the next applicant is not guessing from a recruiting card. Search is free; a full report is paid. Neither one replaces looking up USDOT 120195.

Frequently asked questions

Is Epes Transport a good company to drive for?

It depends whether you want Southeast regional or dedicated work and whether the settlement matches the recruiting CPM. USDOT 120195 shows active authority and a Satisfactory rating, with vehicle out-of-service just under the national average printed on that snapshot. Indeed sat at 3.2 out of 5 on the 09/02/2026 recap (verify current). TheTruckersReport is harsher. Verify current pay and home time for your board.

What is Epes Transport’s USDOT number?

On the snapshot used here, Epes Transport System LLC in Greensboro is USDOT 120195, MC-44128. A second Greensboro file (2248479) is a broker card with no trucks. Confirm the number on the truck matches 120195.

How does Epes Transport pay work?

Regional “home weekly” Indeed listings advertised $0.63–$0.72 per mile ($0.63 base plus up to $0.09 performance pay). A local Adairsville, Georgia post used $25 an hour. TheTruckersReport weekly figures swing widely. Rates change; get the current package in writing.

Is Epes Transport a national OTR carrier?

No. Company copy and the job board describe a Southeast private fleet — local, regional, and dedicated — now under Penske Logistics. Some ads say no Northeast runs. That is not a 48-state mega-carrier map. Ask which lane you would run.

Why do drivers say they quit Epes Transport?

Public reviews cluster around pay versus miles, dispatch and communication, underpowered trucks, and live freight. Home time is the recurring reason people stay. None of that is a court finding. Read recent titles, then ask which board would pay you.

Does Epes Transport hire new CDL drivers?

The regional and local listings used here asked for a year of comparable tractor-trailer time, not a brand-new CDL. The careers page points veterans at GI Bill on-the-job training. Verify current hiring bars with recruiting.

Does Epes Transport get drivers home weekly?

Recruiting copy says home weekly on regional seats and home daily on some local dedicated jobs. Reviews treat home time as the main plus. Pin down your board and which days you would actually be home.

How do I look up Epes Transport on SAFER?

Do not search the brand and stop. Open FMCSA’s Company Snapshot for USDOT 120195 and confirm Epes Transport System LLC at 3400 Edgefield Court, Greensboro. Read authority, inspections, crashes, and the safety rating. Ignore the zero-truck broker file.