J.B. Hunt Transport Services Profile
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. operates as a surface transportation, delivery, and logistics company in North America.
The company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, provides a wide range of reliable transportation, brokerage, and delivery services to a diverse group of customers and consumers throughout the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The company’s service offerings include transportation of full-truckload containerized freight, which the company directly transports utilizing the company-controlled revenue equipment and company drivers, independent contractors, or third-party carriers. The company has arrangements with most of the major North American rail carriers to transport freight in containers or trailers, while the company performs the majority of the pickup and delivery services.
The company also provides customized freight movement, revenue equipment, labor, systems, and delivery services that are tailored to meet individual customers’ requirements and typically involve long-term contracts. These arrangements are generally referred to as dedicated services and may include multiple pickups and drops, freight handling, specialized equipment, and freight network design. In addition, the company provides or arrange for local and home delivery services, generally referred to as last-mile delivery services, to customers through a network of cross-dock and other delivery system locations throughout the continental United States. Utilizing thousands of reliable third-party carriers, the company also provides comprehensive freight transportation brokerage and logistics services. In addition to dry-van, full-load operations, the company also arranges for these unrelated outside carriers to provide flatbed, refrigerated, less-than-truckload (LTL), and other specialized equipment, drivers, and services. Also, the company utilizes a combination of company-owned and contracted power units to provide traditional over-the-road full truckload delivery services. The company’s customers, who include many Fortune 500 companies, have extremely diverse businesses. Many of them are served by J.B. Hunt 360°, an online platform that offers shippers and carriers greater access, visibility and transparency of the supply chain.
The company’s ability to offer multiple services, utilizing the company’s existing lines of business and a full complement of logistics services through third parties, represents a competitive advantage. The company reports its operating results for these services using five reporting segments: Intermodal (JBI), Dedicated Contract Services (DCS), Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), Final Mile Services (FMS) and Truckload (JBT). The company’s business usually involves slightly higher freight volumes in August through early November. Meanwhile, DCS and FMS are subject to less seasonal variation than the company’s other segments.
Strategy
The company forges long-term relationships with key customers that include supply chain management as an integral part of their strategies. Working in concert, the company strives to drive out excess cost, add value and function as an extension of their enterprises. The company’s strategy is based on utilizing an integrated, multimodal approach to provide capacity-oriented solutions centered on delivering customer value and industry-leading service.
Additionally, the company continues to test and explore the usage of alternative fuel vehicles. Efforts to improve fleet fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions are ongoing.
Segments
JBI Segment
The transportation service offerings of the company’s JBI segment utilize arrangements with most major North American rail carriers to provide intermodal freight solutions for the company’s customers throughout the continental United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company’s JBI segment began operations in 1989, forming a unique partnership with what is now the BNSF Railway Company (BNSF); this was a watershed event in the industry and the first agreement that linked major rail and truckload carriers in a joint service environment. Throughout the years that followed, JBI established multiple agreements with other Class I railroads. JBI draws on the intermodal services of these rail carriers for the underlying linehaul movement of its equipment between rail ramps. The origin and destination pickup and delivery services (drayage) are handled by the company’s company-owned tractors for the majority of the company’s intermodal loads, while third-party dray carriers are used where economical. By performing the company’s own drayage services, the company is able to provide a cost-competitive, seamless coordination of the combined rail and dray movements for the company’s customers.
JBI operates 118,171 pieces of company-owned trailing equipment systemwide. The fleet primarily consists of 53-foot, high-cube containers and is designed to take advantage of intermodal double-stack economics and superior ride quality. The company owns and maintains its own chassis fleet, consisting of 100,825 units. The containers and chassis are uniquely designed so that they may only be paired together for optimal productivity, which the company feel creates an operational competitive advantage. JBI also manages a fleet of 5,944 company-owned tractors and 7,567 company drivers and contracts 436 independent contractor trucks.
DCS Segment
DCS focuses on private fleet conversion and creation in replenishment and specialized equipment. The company specializes in the design, development, and execution of supply chain solutions that support a variety of transportation networks. Contracts with the company’s customers are long-term, ranging from three to 10 years, with the average being approximately five years.
As of December 31, 2023, this segment operated 12,574 company-owned trucks, 674 customer-owned trucks, and 4 independent contractor trucks. DCS also operates 27,194 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 5,406 customer-owned trailers.
ICS Segment
ICS provides traditional freight brokerage and transportation logistics solutions to customers through relationships with thousands of third-party carriers and integration with the company’s owned equipment within other segments. By leveraging the J.B. Hunt brand, systems, and network, the company provides a broader service offering to customers by providing flatbed, refrigerated, and expedited, as well as a variety of dry-van and intermodal solutions. Furthermore, the company offers an online multimodal marketplace via J.B. Hunt 360 that helps shippers and carriers match the right load with the right carrier. ICS also provides the majority of the company’s single-source logistics management services for customers desiring to outsource their transportation functions and utilize the company’s proven supply chain technology and design expertise to improve efficiency. ICS operates multiple remote sales offices or branches, as well as on-site logistics personnel working in direct contact with customers.
FMS Segment
FMS provides last-mile delivery services to customers through a nationwide network of cross-dock and other delivery system network locations, with 98% of the continental U.S. population living within 150 miles of a network location. FMS provides both asset and non-asset (brokerage) big and bulky delivery and installation services, as well as fulfillment, retail-pooling distributions, and LTL services. FMS contracts with customers range from one to five years, with the average being approximately three years.
As of December 31, 2023, this segment operated 1,166 company-owned trucks, 225 customer-owned trucks, and 20 independent contractor trucks. FMS also operates 1,212 owned pieces of trailing equipment and 102 customer-owned trailers.
JBT Segment
The service offering in this segment is full-load, dry-van freight, utilizing tractors and trailers operating over roads and highways. JBT also offers services through the company’s J.B. Hunt 360box program, which utilizes its J.B. Hunt 360 platform to access capacity and offer efficient drop trailer solutions to the company’s customers. The company typically picks up freight at the dock or specified location of the shipper and transport the load directly to the location of the consignee. The company uses independent contractors or third-party carriers who agree to transport freight in the company’s trailers, as well as the company-owned tractors and employee drivers.
As of December 31, 2023, the JBT segment operated 13,561 company-owned trailers and 27 company-owned tractors. At December 31, 2023, the company had 1,931 independent contractors operating in the JBT segment.
Marketing and Operations
The company transports, or arranges for the transportation of, a wide range of freight, including general merchandise, specialty consumer items, appliances, forest and paper products, food and beverages, building materials, soaps and cosmetics, automotive parts, agricultural products, electronics, and chemicals. The company’s customer base includes a large number of Fortune 500 companies. The company provides many transportation services that meet the supply chain logistics needs of shippers.
The company generally markets all of its service offerings through a nationwide sales and marketing network. The company uses specific sales forces in DCS and FMS due to the length, complexity, and specialization of the sales cycle. In addition to the company’s sales teams, J.B. Hunt 360 offers instant access to a wide array of technology-driven solutions for customers and carriers. Through the platform, businesses of all sizes can quote and book shipments, view analytics, and gain visibility into freight movement. In accordance with the company’s typical arrangements, the company bills the customer for all services, and the company, in turn, pay all third parties for their portion of transportation services provided.
Revenue Equipment
The company’s JBI segment utilizes uniquely designed high-cube containers and chassis, which can only be paired with each other and can be separated to allow the containers to be double-stacked on rail cars. The composition of the company’s DCS trailing fleet varies with specific customer requirements and may include dry-vans, flatbeds, bulk, temperature-controlled, curtain-side vans, and dump trailers. The company primarily utilizes third-party carriers’ tractor and trailing equipment for the company’s ICS segment. The company’s FMS segment primarily utilizes straight trucks or similar equipment through third-party carriers, while the JBT segment operates primarily 53-foot dry-van trailers.
As of December 31, 2023, the company’s company-owned tractor and truck fleet consisted of 19,711 units. In addition, the company had 2,391 independent contractors who operate their own tractors but transport freight in the company’s trailing equipment. The company operates with standardized tractors in as many fleets as possible, particularly in the company’s JBI and JBT fleets. At December 31, 2023, the average age of the company’s combined tractor fleet was 1.9 years, while the company’s containers averaged 9.0 years of age and the company’s trailers averaged 6.3 years. The company performs routine servicing and preventive maintenance on its equipment at the company’s regional terminal facilities.
Regulation
The company’s operations as a for-hire motor carrier are subject to regulation by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and certain business is also subject to state rules and regulations. The DOT periodically conducts reviews and audits to ensure the company’s compliance with federal safety requirements, and the company reports certain accident and other information to the DOT. The company’s operations into and out of Canada and Mexico are subject to regulation by those countries. The company is also subject to a variety of requirements of national, state, and local governments, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The company continues to monitor the actions of the FMCSA and other regulatory agencies and evaluates all proposed rules to determine their impact on the company’s operations.
History
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. was founded in 1961. The company was incorporated in Arkansas in 1961.
