J.B. Hunt’s earnings fall despite higher revenues

Net earnings for 2018 totaled $490 million, down from $686 million in 2017.    J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., an intermodal and trucking provider based in Lowell, Ark., posted net earnings of $490 million in 2018 compared to $686 million in 2017.
   Total operating revenue stood at $8.6 billion last year compared with $7.2 billion in 2017.
   J.B. Hunt was ranked by Transport Topics in 2017 as the fourth largest “for hire” trucking and intermodal company after UPS, FedEx and XPO.
   For the fourth quarter of 2018, J.B. Hunt posted net earnings of $88.7 million compared to $385.3 million in the same 2017 period. Total operating revenue stood at $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter compared to $2 billion in the same 2017 period.
   The company said fourth quarter 2018 net earnings included preannounced pretax charges of $134 million for contingent liabilities related to ongoing arbitration with BNSF Railway Company. The railroad and J.B. Hunt are arbitrating how to split intermodal revenue.
   Broken down by segment, during the fourth quarter of 2018 J.B. Hunt’s intermodal segment saw a 16 percent year-over-year increase in revenue per load that led to a 15 percent jump in segment revenue to $1.26 billion. Intermodal volumes declined 1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017, with Eastern network loads growing 5 percent and transcontinental loads falling 4 percent.
   Meanwhile, the dedicated contract services (DCS) segment saw a 25 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to $596 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, which the company said was due to the addition of new customer accounts, improved asset utilization and a 70 percent increase in operating income. The DCS segment focuses on private fleet conversion and creation in replenishment, specialized equipment and final-mile delivery services. Earlier this month, J.B. Hunt announced it was growing its final-mile delivery business by acquiring Cory 1st Choice Home Delivery for $100 million, a specialist in big and bulky products such as furniture.
   In the integrated capacity solutions (ICS) segment, revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 increased 7 percent year-over-year to $345 million, primarily from a 14 percent surge in load growth. The ICS segment provides traditional freight brokerage and transportation logistics solutions to customers through relationships with third-party carriers and integration with J.B. Hunt’s owned equipment.
   The company’s full-load, dry-van freight trucking segment (JBT) posted revenues of $118 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, up 21 percent year-over-year amid a 131 percent jump in operating income to $14.7 million. The segment’s revenue per load increased 10 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017, primarily due to an 18 percent increase in rates per loaded mile, offset by a 6 percent decrease in length of haul. Comparable contractual customer rates increased about 15 percent year-over-year. At the end of the period, JBT operated 2,112 tractors compared to 2,032 at the close of 2017.