TMC Transportation Reviews: SAFER Record, Pay, and ESOP

A recruiter says TMC Transportation: employee-owned, home on weekends, open deck out of Des Moines. Then you search the name and land on Melton comparisons, mixed Indeed threads, and lookalike USDOT files that are not the Iowa flatbed shop. The legal name on the federal file is not “TMC Transportation.” Look up Annett Holdings Inc, DBA TMC, before you treat a star rating as the whole story.

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.

TMC Transportation safety record: what FMCSA data shows

Start with the federal file. People searching “TMC Transportation FMCSA” or “TMC Transportation DOT number” need the legal entity, not the marketing name. On the Company Snapshot pulled for this article, USDOT 87409 is Annett Holdings Inc, DBA TMC, at 6115 SW Leland Ave, Des Moines, IA 50321, mailing PO Box 1774, Des Moines, IA 50306, phone (515) 256-3944. Entity type: carrier. USDOT status: ACTIVE. Out-of-service date: none. Authority: authorized for motor carrier of property (except household goods) under MC-115730. Authorized for-hire, interstate. If a recruiter hands you a different number, stop.

The same snapshot — FMCSA systems dated 09/07/2026 — lists 3,883 power units and 3,469 drivers. MCS-150 mileage is 314,923,886 for 2023, form date 09/30/2024. FMCSA flags Carrier VMT Outdated, so do not treat that mileage as this year’s work. Cargo checkboxes include metal sheets, coils, and rolls; logs, poles, beams, and lumber; machinery and large objects; construction; and passengers. That last box is on the federal form. The work drivers talk about is open-deck steel, lumber, and machinery.

Roadside inspections, 24 months before 09/07/2026: 5,939 total. Vehicle 3,804 inspections, 643 out of service (16.9%). Driver 5,937 inspections, 37 out of service (0.6%). Hazmat 11 inspections, 0 out of service (0%). National averages printed on that snapshot (table dated 07/31/2026) are 22.26% vehicle, 6.67% driver, 4.44% hazmat. TMC’s printed vehicle and driver OOS rates sit under those averages. That is a rate comparison, not a claim the fleet never fails a Level I.

Crashes, same window: 9 fatal, 106 injury, 211 tow, 326 total. FMCSA counts involvement in reportable crashes without a determination of responsibility. A large open-deck fleet will show volume. Read the current file yourself.

Safety rating: Satisfactory, rating date 04/21/2006, later review 05/01/2023 typed Non-Ratable. A 2006 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. Canadian inspections and crashes on this snapshot are zeros.

None of this replaces a live lookup the week you would sign. Open SAFER by USDOT 87409, confirm Annett Holdings Inc, and ignore similarly named TMC files in other states.

Who TMC is, in plain terms

TMC is a Des Moines open-deck carrier that markets itself as the largest employee-owned flatbed company in the United States (tmctrans.com). It says it became employee-owned in October 2013 through an ESOP after founder Harrold Annett set a succession plan; eligible employees receive shares at no payroll deduction, on top of a 401(k) (employee ownership). That is the distinction versus Maverick Transportation: Maverick is family-owned. TMC is the ESOP flatbed name.

The product is open deck, not dry van OTR. tmcjobs.com and Drive for TMC push late-model Peterbilts, name on the door, regional runs, and paid training for drivers who have never tarped. If you want a no-tarp van seat, this is the wrong article.

Pay: percentage of the load, not a CPM poster

TMC pays company drivers a percentage of each load. The June 29, 2026 note on new driver pay initiatives is the sourced package: fleet average 30–31% of each load, new hires starting as high as 30% in key markets, with the company saying that share can rise toward 37% on efficiency and safety metrics. The same note brought back a continuous-run bump — one extra percent after one weekend out, two after two, up to three extra points after three or more weekends, kept until you go home.

Accessorials in that announcement: holiday pay $125 per day on six named holidays; tarp pay $40 for smoke and steel and $50 for lumber. The current pay page advertises weekly gross around $1,470–$1,850, with the top quarter as high as $2,400, and a 30% start in a list of Northeast and Midwest states. tmcjobs.com still lists a lower weekly band around $1,350–$1,600 (they compare that to about $0.69 CPM), new drivers “up to $100,000” a year, experienced “up to $120,000,” a sign-on up to $5,000, $1,000 orientation pay for experienced hires, and student copy listing $650 / week paid training plus a $600 in-truck bonus. Those two pages do not match. Rates change. Verify current percentages, tarp pay, holiday pay, weekly averages, and any training recoupment in writing.

Your check follows freight rates, loaded miles, deadhead, and how often you take the weekend home. A recruiter’s annual ceiling is not a slow-week settlement. Ask for a recent settlement on the lanes you would run, including a short week.

What drivers actually say

Public review pages are not a verdict. Indeed’s TMC Transportation reviews, updated 09/07/2026, sat at 3.5 out of 5 across hundreds of write-ups (verify current). Work-life scored lower than overall on that snapshot; pay and benefits sat in the low-to-mid 3s. Titles in the mix range from “Overall A Good Company” and “Great starter company” to “Taxed low pay and lazy trainers,” “Super demanding,” “Up and down pay,” and “Beware. Do your research.” Some drivers treat TMC as a respectable open-deck seat with better iron than a mega van fleet. Others bounce off the physical work, trainer quality, or a week where the percentage did not match the pitch.

TheTruckersReport’s TMC page is where the comparison sits in plain text: TMC or Melton. Pull both SAFER files and both pay sheets. Recurring positives: late-model equipment, weekend home time on regional runs, and the ESOP if you stay. Recurring negatives: tarping in bad weather, demanding freight, uneven trainers, and pay that moves with the market. Weigh recent patterns.

Home time, equipment, and what the ESOP actually is

TMC markets home every weekend on regional runs (home time). Company copy describes a typical haul radius around home, weekend resets, and extra percentage if you skip weekends. Pin down your board. “Home weekly” that starts Sunday night is not Friday-to-Sunday at the house.

Equipment is a selling point: late-model Peterbilts, name on the door, in-house maintenance. Ask what is governed, what cameras are in the cab, and who pays for tarps.

The ESOP is not a signing bonus. Eligible employees are in the plan at no cost, on top of a 401(k). Share value moves with company performance. Ownership builds while you stay employed; it is not extra cash on the first settlement. If you will leave in year one, do not count phantom stock in first-year math. That is what ESOP gives a TMC driver — a retirement stake that can grow — and what it does not give: a bigger check in week one, a guaranteed share price, or a substitute for reading USDOT 87409.

Who TMC fits — and who should look elsewhere

TMC tends to fit a driver who will do open-deck work, wants regional weekend home time, and can live with percentage pay. It also fits someone who will stay long enough for the ESOP to matter and who will look up USDOT 87409. Paid training for no flatbed experience is on the recruiting pages if you will actually throw tarps.

Look elsewhere if you need a no-tarp dry van seat, you will not stay past the first year, you need a simple cents-per-mile poster, or you will not do physical securement. Compare best trucking companies to work for and the Maverick Transportation reviews so you do not confuse family-owned with employee-owned.

How to vet TMC before you sign

1. Confirm the legal name and USDOT. Annett Holdings Inc, DBA TMC, 87409.
2. Re-open the SAFER snapshot the week you would start. Authority, inspections, crashes, rating. Use the SAFER lookup walkthrough.
3. Get the current percentage, tarp pay, holiday pay, and continuous-run rules in writing. The June 2026 note is not your offer letter.
4. Define home time for your zip code. Which days, and what happens if you take the stay-out option.
5. Read the training or tuition terms. Paid CDL and paid flatbed training often come with a stay-or-repay clause.
6. 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 TMC, 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 87409.

Frequently asked questions

Is TMC Transportation a good company to drive for?

It depends whether you will do open-deck work and stay long enough for the ESOP to matter. USDOT 87409 shows active authority, a Satisfactory rating, and vehicle/driver OOS rates under the national averages printed on that snapshot. Indeed sat at 3.5 out of 5 on the 09/07/2026 recap (verify current). TheTruckersReport splits between a respectable flatbed seat and demanding, uneven weeks. Verify current pay and home time for your board.

What is TMC’s USDOT number?

On the snapshot used here, Annett Holdings Inc, DBA TMC, is USDOT 87409, MC-115730, Des Moines, Iowa. A SAFER name search for “TMC Transportation” returns no match. Confirm the number on the truck matches that file.

How does TMC pay work?

Company drivers earn a percentage of each load. TMC’s June 2026 note put the fleet average around 30–31%, with a higher share through performance and a continuous-run bump if you skip weekends. Recruiting also lists weekly averages and annual ceilings, and those figures are not identical across TMC pages. Rates change; get the current split in writing.

Does TMC get drivers home on weekends?

That is the recruiting pitch for regional runs. The same company pays extra percentage to stay out additional weekends. Ask how home time is defined for your lanes, which days you are actually home, and whether your board uses the stay-out program by default.

Is TMC employee-owned?

TMC says it became employee-owned in October 2013 through an ESOP. Eligible employees receive shares at no payroll deduction, in addition to a 401(k). That is not cash on the first settlement. Maverick is the family-owned flatbed name people confuse with TMC.

Does TMC hire drivers with no flatbed experience?

Recruiting pages say no flatbed experience is required and that paid securement training is part of onboarding, including a student/CDL path. Requirements and any repayment terms change. Verify current hiring bars with the company.

How do I look up TMC on SAFER?

Do not search the marketing name and stop. Open FMCSA’s Company Snapshot for USDOT 87409 and confirm Annett Holdings Inc / DBA TMC in Des Moines. Read authority, inspections, crashes, and the safety rating.

TMC or Melton?

That is the comparison TheTruckersReport commenters actually ask. This page is the TMC file: SAFER 87409, percentage pay, ESOP, weekend-home marketing. Pull Melton’s snapshot the same way. Do not pick a logo off a forum title.