J.B. Hunt’s fourth quarter comes in ahead of consensus as the intermodal, brokerage and truckload divisions see notable year-over-year improvements.
Shares of J.B. Hunt Transport Services jumped 10% Friday as the company navigated supply chain challenges during the third quarter to beat analysts’ forecasts.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services sidesteps disruption throughout the transportation network to beat analysts’ forecasts.
Forward Air posts a quarterly record for operating income and revenue in the second quarter.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services beat second-quarter expectations Monday. However, the back half of 2021 will depend on how well the railroads and shippers can improve their operations.
Appearing at an investor conference Wednesday, management from J.B. Hunt Transport Services said delivery schedules for new containers are being hindered by a lack of ocean capacity, not manufacturers’ build schedules.
“First Class I railroad in North America to issue green bonds,” Norfolk Southern shares plans for environmental projects.
Steel and chemicals were among the commodities that showed volume strength in April, according to the Association of American Railroads. North American intermodal volumes grew 10.5% in the first quarter, said the Intermodal Association of North America.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services updated its long-term division margin targets on its first-quarter call Thursday.
International intermodal volumes for the U.S. have risen 44% year-over-year, according to FreightWaves SONAR, amid higher import activity.
Booming sales, thin inventories and more stimulus on the way provide the backdrop for potentially setting a new record for retail container imports in 2021. The National Retail Federation raised its outlook again for loaded containers landing at U.S. ports in the first half of the year.
Wells Fargo transportation research analyst Allison Poliniak-Cusic raises expectations for intermodal providers in a new report. Favorable catalysts for the mode are expected to carry into 2022.
J.B. Hunt believes recent winter storms will negatively impact first-quarter operating income by $15 million to $20 million. The company said it had been successful advancing its intermodal service initiatives prior to the storms.
Higher consumer spending, inventory restocking and rising import levels contributed to a 9.6% gain in North American intermodal volumes in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Intermodal Association of North America.
Management from Schneider National expects tightness in the trucking markets to continue. Inventory restocking will keep truck demand elevated and new capacity is entering the market at a slower pace than in previous cycles.
Management from J.B. Hunt sees the current inventory replenishment cycle sustaining a high freight demand environment through the first quarter of 2021.
Hub Group sees a strong demand environment continuing as most of its customers are operating with lean inventories. The company expects tight freight fundamentals to create a favorable rate environment in 2021.
The strength in truckload fundamentals didn’t really show in Schneider National’s third-quarter report. Lower revenue per truck, intermodal rail congestion and brokerage malaise overshadowed the announcement of a $2 special dividend.
U.S. intermodal volumes grew in September amid a continued increase in U.S. imports.
