Hub Group revs up driver pay, capacity

The multimodal transportation services provider is adding about 800 trucks and 4,000 containers.    Hub Group Inc. is tackling the ongoing capacity crunch in the trucking industry head-on by adding more trucks and containers as well as creating incentives to bring in more drivers.
   The multimodal transportation services provider is implementing pay increases to combat the driver shortage, Phil Yeager, the company’s chief commercial officer, said at IANA’s intermodal operations and maintenance business meeting in Lombard, Ill., Wednesday.
   Hub Group also is adding about 800 trucks this year to its overall capacity, according to Yeager.
   In addition, Hub Group has 4,000 containers on order and is reviewing if it needs to add even more capacity to service demand.
   The company already is hearing from customers trying to ensure early on they are prepared for peak season and all the transloading volumes they will have, a far different scenario from this time last year, Yeager said.
   Across the board, drayage capacity will tighten — and not just in the transload section, Yeager said.
   Hub Group thrived in the first quarter of 2018, posting a net income of $16.2 million on revenues of $1.1 billion, both of which sharply increased from first-quarter 2017 net income of $10.3 million and revenues of $892.8 million.
   The company expects its 2018 capital expenditures will range from $190 million to $210 million.
   Based out of Oak Brook, Ill., Hub Group has more than 4,000 employees and provides services in the United States, Canada and Mexico.