Meet Salt Lake City Agent – Michael Lage
Originally from New Albany, Indiana (just across the river from Louisville, KY), Agent Michael Lage hadn’t planned to leave the Louisville area. Michael said, “I thought I was going to be the person that stayed at Mercer headquarters in Louisville and would grow within the company.” But in 2017, things changed for Michael and his wife when an agency position opened in Utah. “We came out here for a 1 week visit and absolutely fell in love with the area,” Michael said. “It’s beautiful out here.” The couple had just bought a house in New Albany a few months earlier, but they quickly agreed that making the move to Salt Lake City and the LSL Agency was the right decision.
A Little Backstory on Michael
Before trucking and Mercer, Michael sold shoes at Dillard’s department store in Louisville, KY. Little did he know that this was where he would meet his future wife. She was a coworker at Dillard’s that caught Michael’s eye, so he asked her on a date to a Cincinnati Reds game. The two hit it off and Michael eventually returned to the site of the first date and proposed to her before a Reds game. While the workplace romance was a success, selling shoes was not. Michael was on the hunt for a new career when a friend encouraged him to apply for an opening in Freight Operations at Mercer Transportation. He did just that. “I started at Mercer at the end of 2012 in Freight Operations in LK2,” Michael explained. “I stayed at LK2 in Louisville, my entire time at Mercer; as a Freight Coordinator for a few years, then as the Team Leader of LK2.”
Working his way up in Freight Operations, Michael learned a lot about the trucking industry and matching loads to owner operators. He applied for a management position that ended up going to someone else. Always looking for ways to grow his career, Michael heard about the agency position in Salt Lake City and pursued it. The rest as they say is history.
The LSL Agency in SLC
A team of three (including Michael) runs the LSL office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Camila started a couple of months after Michael’s arrival in 2017. Dan joined five years ago, just before the pandemic. Michael appreciates the fact that his team has such low turnover, “Having the consistent people that know everything, know the drivers, know the customers, etc. That’s huge.”
As with other parts of the trucking industry, the LSL office had both high and low periods in the past several years. 2024 was more of a struggle than the pandemic. “I didn’t have to let anybody go,” Michael recalled, “and we didn’t have any customers close. Just saw the same as most were seeing, customers down like 20%.” Shippers in the region move a lot of standard building materials as well as more specialized freight like aircraft engines and HAZMAT loads.
These days things are looking up. The LSL team is working harder than ever at bringing on new customers. Branden Harper and a new salesperson, Evan Kent, are both helping Michael explore new sales tactics to diversify the types of freight available. One of the challenges is making sure that drivers have the right endorsements.
Incentives for HAZMAT Endorsements
If you’re heading out West as an owner operator (Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, etc.), then Michael encourages you to get your HAZMAT endorsement. “Having your HAZMAT endorsement would literally double the number of loads available to Mercer drivers out here,” he said. Nobody in the Mercer network wants drivers to be stuck deadheading for hundreds of miles, just to find their next load.
HAZMAT certification (and placards) can immediately increase the earning potential of your business. “Our loads pay about an extra 150 bucks per HAZMAT load,” Michael said. “So, it kind of pays for itself in a couple loads.”
Are you able to make regular trips to the SLL territory? “I tell drivers if you come out here and you recently got your HAZMAT endorsement, I’m willing to split the cost if you come out here regularly,” Michael said. Agencies like SLL can’t meet the needs of all their shippers or compete for HAZMAT freight without certified owner operators.
Family and Utah’s Great Outdoors
Michael and his wife have had two kids since their 2016 marriage. Their daughter is about ten months old, born in 2024. Their four-year-old son is now at an age where he can enjoy hiking the great outdoors in and around Utah. Michael and his son also enjoy watching sports like hockey and the local AAA baseball team, as well as golfing together and practicing their putting skills in the basement.
The Beehive State has its perks. The Lage family enjoys weekend trips to the mountains like Park City, Moab, and St. George. They’ve taken up fishing and follow local teams like the Utah Jazz. Michael’s favorite thing about Utah might be the lack of humidity. It’s the kind of thing that can go unnoticed until you fly back to Louisville or your 4-year-old struggles to have fun at Disney World.
The Road Ahead for LSL
Like much of the trucking industry, the LSL agency is cautiously optimistic about the future. “So far, the winter and spring have been good, so we’re hoping that it just picks up enough to get back,” Michael said. He encourages drivers to call the LSL agency. “We try to find something that fits what they want to do—Make sure that we get you pre-selected,” Michael said.
Across the Mercer Transportation network, trucking is all about relationships. As an owner operator, getting your HAZMAT certification and communicating about your availability helps agencies like LSL serve new shippers. From his years as a Freight Coordinator at Mercertown to supporting a growing family in Utah, Michael Lage has a special appreciation for owner operators and would love to hear from any that are heading his way.
Mercer is grateful to the Lage family and the whole LSL team for their work serving owner operators and expanding the freight network.
Tip for Securing Preferred Freight
When the freight market gets tight, it’s harder to call dibs on your preferred freight. So, Michael offers a tip…give a call ahead to agencies in your next destination and talk to somebody. Specifically, Michael and his team would love to hear from drivers heading to Utah. They will take your name and try to find a load for you. The LSL Agency keeps a running list of inbound drivers and can text you about loads being posted to the board. Speaking with an agent can be a powerful tool in helping you secure your preferred freight.