J.B. Hunt Transport Services NASDAQ: JBHT executives said intermodal demand remains “pretty good,” with volume gains driven more by company-specific share wins than by a broadly robust freight market, during a Wolfe Research conference session moderated by Scott Group, managing director and senior analyst at Wolfe Research.
Darren Field, president of intermodal and executive vice president at J.B. Hunt, said the company is busy with customers, but he stopped short of describing the broader supply chain environment as especially strong.
“I think it’s just steady,” Field said. “I think our execution and the way that J.B. Hunt has gone about business over the last two or three years is earning share.”
Field said customers are not showing signs of panic about meeting supply chain needs heading into the fall. Instead, he said J.B. Hunt’s growth has been supported by service execution and opportunities to convert highway freight to intermodal, particularly in the Eastern network.
Eastern Intermodal Network Remains a Growth Driver
Group noted that J.B. Hunt’s March intermodal volumes rose 8% and asked whether that strength was continuing into the second quarter. Field said the company would not “anchor” on March, calling it a “great month,” but said demand for the company’s product remains strong.
Field said J.B. Hunt has seen particular success in the Eastern network, where the company continues to convert truckload freight to intermodal. He said customers have been looking to hedge against higher truckload rates by securing intermodal capacity and savings earlier.
“I think our view is that J.B. Hunt specific share gain is having success, particularly in the Eastern network,” Field said.
In the first quarter, Group said local East volumes were up 7%, while transcontinental volumes were flat. Field said the Eastern network has “foundational growth” from higher truckload prices and improved service. He added that transcontinental comparisons were affected by prior-year pre-shipping ahead of tariffs and rerouting related to potential East Coast labor disruption.
Field said the second quarter may provide an opportunity for transcontinental growth because May and June import volumes through the West Coast were “really pretty poor” in the prior year.
Capacity and Rail Service Seen as Supportive
Field said J.B. Hunt and its rail providers have capacity available if stronger intermodal volume growth materializes. He said rail service across the company’s provider network has been “excellent” for multiple quarters.
“If double digit volume growth came at our Intermodal network? Absolutely. I feel like capacity is available and ready to handle that,” Field said.
He said J.B. Hunt’s responsibility is to provide rail partners with strong forecasting, plan new business implementations carefully and communicate ahead of volume increases so that the network is not surprised.
Field also said customer conversations around peak season have not yet shown urgency. He said customers are not expressing negative expectations for the holiday shopping season, but they also are not broadly asking J.B. Hunt to put peak-season capacity programs in place.
Pricing Opportunity Emerging, But Lag Remains
On pricing, Field said J.B. Hunt is in a normal lag period between rising truckload rates and eventual intermodal pricing improvement. He said the company pays closer attention to truckload contract rates than spot rates.
Field said that in the Eastern network, J.B. Hunt’s intermodal pricing, inclusive of fuel surcharge, has shifted from a 15% discount to truckload to about a 20% discount over the past six to eight weeks. He said that widening gap is a signal of pricing opportunity.
“I think you do have to be in the 15% discount range in the East to really have sticky conversion from highway to Intermodal and keep that business,” Field said.
He said Western pricing behaves differently because it is less tied to the truckload market and more influenced by all-water shipping costs, intact international intermodal and some truckload capacity. Field also said backhaul pricing remains “ultra-competitive,” while some West Coast headhaul pricing packages have been more competitive than expected.
Field said the company has seen early signs of driver wage pressure, including a growing need for drivers in dedicated and intermodal operations and the use of sign-on bonuses. He said pricing improvements in the freight market will likely find their way to drivers.
Dedicated, Brokerage and Truckload Units Show Momentum
Andrew Hall, senior director of finance at J.B. Hunt, said the company’s Dedicated Contract Services pipeline has strengthened in recent months, with improvement in both customer size and industry breadth. He said J.B. Hunt added 40 new customer names to its Dedicated portfolio last year.
Hall said Dedicated has delivered double-digit operating margins for more than 10 years, but investors should expect to see a couple of quarters of fleet growth before new business flows through to operating income.
Hall also highlighted growth in other businesses:
- JBT: Hall said the segment has posted four straight quarters of double-digit growth and has outgrown the market over that span.
- ICS: Hall said the brokerage business has faced a challenging few years, but had 10% volume growth in the first quarter and has been successful so far during bid season.
- Dedicated: Hall said the company targets 800 to 1,000 net truck sales annually and had 285 in the first quarter after 385 at the end of last year.
Hall said he expects the Dedicated fleet to return to growth this year, which would support modest operating income growth for the full year.
Executives Address Competition, Regulation and Margin Goals
Field said Amazon’s activity in intermodal was not new, noting that Amazon entered the industry during COVID, bought containers and has been a supply chain services provider for years. He said J.B. Hunt has competed with Amazon and remains confident in its service quality and consistency.
On autonomous trucks, Field said they could complement intermodal rather than threaten it, particularly because one end of every intermodal load is a rail yard that could eventually be mapped for autonomous operations. He said J.B. Hunt still needs to understand the cost and operational requirements of autonomous truck service.
Field also addressed driver-related regulatory issues, saying J.B. Hunt has more than 22,000 drivers and about 300 in the non-domiciled category. He said the issue is not a significant headwind for the company, though he noted the broader industry could face a larger impact, citing “maybe as many as 200,000 drivers.”
On margins, Field said J.B. Hunt has made progress from volume and cost improvements, while price has not yet contributed meaningfully. He said the company’s mission is to return intermodal margins to at least 10% and ultimately back within its long-term target range of 10% to 12%.
About J.B. Hunt Transport Services NASDAQ: JBHT
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc is a leading provider of transportation and logistics solutions headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas. The company offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to move freight efficiently across North America, including intermodal, dedicated contract services, full truckload, less-than-truckload (LTL), final mile delivery and specialized transport.
In its intermodal segment, J.B. Hunt leverages a network of rail and truck assets to transport containers and trailers on major U.S.
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