J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. (JBHT) reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the third quarter.
Successful Technology Investments
J.B. Hunt's operating revenue for the third quarter was $3.14 billion, a 27% increase compared with $2.47 billion for the third quarter 2020. The company partially attributed the strong numbers to its "further scaling into technology investments at a consolidated level."
One of these investments is Marketplace for J.B. Hunt 360, a single e-commerce platform that connect shippers and carriers. In its Marketplace platform, freight transactions alone increased to $518 million in the third quarter 2021 compared to $358 million in the prior year quarter.
J.B. Hunt was also bolstered by increased "higher productivity of assets and people across our ICS and JBT segments." The company said this was "partially offset by increases in driver wage and recruiting costs; rail and truck purchase transportation expense, and non-driver personnel salary."
Increasing Revenue Per Load
In the intermodal segment, third quarter operating income was recorded as $165.1 million, up a whopping 52% from the third quarter.
The numbers were helped by a 24% increase in revenue per load, resulting from a combination of mix, customer rates, and fuel surcharge revenue."
However, J.B. Hunt issued a warning about declining intermodal volumes caused by a "continuation of rail restrictions across the network and elevated detention of trailing equipment at customer facilities." Additionally, "labor shortages across the industry in both rail and truck networks and at customer warehouses are at the core of the supply-chain fluidity challenges limiting asset utilization and capacity."
