J.B. Hunt semitrailers remain the transportation company's most visible asset. A trip down Interstate 540 or any highway in America will likely yield multiple sightings of its familiar yellow and black logo.
Traditional trucking, though, isn't why the Lowell-based company reported revenue of $5.6 billion last year. The figure was up from the $5.1 billion in 2012 that allowed the company to earn a spot on the Fortune 500 for the first time.
Keep On Trucking
Trucking and transportation companies play a major role in the state’s economy. Northwest Arkansas provides a cross-section of the industry with 14 companies located in Benton, Madison and Washington counties. Local carriers are a mix of publicly traded companies, privately held operations and shipper-owned fleets. Below is an alphabetical list of trucking and transportation firms with headquarters in the area.
Central States Manufacturing*
Cobb-Vantress*
D.M.T. Services Inc.
George’s Inc.*
Glory Transportation J.B. Hunt$
Lew Thompson & Son
McKee Foods Transportation*
P.A.M. Transportation Services$
RMX Transportation
Arkansas Simmons Foods*
Intermodal shipping -- a category that generally includes rail and boats in addition to the trucks -- continues to be the strongest-performing segment for J.B. Hunt. Revenue jumped 11 percent to $915 million in 2013.
Company executives pointed to additional freight in its Eastern intermodal network as a big reason for the success. Intermodal business began in the early 1990s for J.B. Hunt and has remained a consistent producer for the company and a model for other trucking and transportation companies.
The company's success comes even as its over-the-road trucking business has declined. Revenue for J.B. Hunt's trucking segment -- JBT -- fell by 19 percent to $91 million in 2013.
Management changes within JBT could jump start the struggling division. Shelley Simpson now heads JBT, Greg Breeden was hired from Crete Carrier to serve as vice president of JBT marketing and network development and Steve Rogers transferred from a vice president's role in dedicated contract services into the trucking segment. Simpson continues to oversee marketing and the company's customer-carrier relationships.
"Personnel and leadership changes are expected to address and improve tractor utilization, maintenance and customer services that have impact on the profitability of JBT," the company said during its fourth quarter earnings call in February. "We expect to demonstrate operation improvements throughout 2014, but significant financial improvements will become more apparent in 2015."
J.B. Hunt employs nearly 2,800 people at its Lowell headquarters.
The company has found ways to stay relevant and innovative in transportation by diversifying its offerings. Intermodal isn't the only area where J.B. Hunt has shown a willingness to grow beyond the traditional model.
Part of the company's strategy for success in 2014 includes J.B. Hunt getting back to its roots. Agriculture hauling, part of the company's dedicated contract segment, is budgeted for about $20 million of additional revenue this year. J.B. Hunt was founded in 1969 with five trucks and seven trailers as a poultry-related hauler.
Projection for 2014 includes $68 million in revenue from the dedicated contact services segment.
Another area of potential growth rests in the Final Mile services offered by J.B. Hunt. Customers who order large items such as appliances from Amazon.com have the option of using J.B. Hunt to deliver the order. Home delivery in a particular market, rather than long-haul trucking, is an example of the company's willingness to diversify.
"J.B. Hunt continues to be innovative in meeting needs someone else hasn't thought of," said Shannon Samples Newton, vice president of the Arkansas Trucking Association. "They're more diverse than any other trucking company we'd be comparing them to, really. They've reached outside the box and come up with some unique solutions."
Another of the area's major players in shipping is also gaining recognition for developing unique solutions. Walmart Advanced Vehicle Experience, known as WAVE, is a truck prototype debuted earlier this year by Walmart Transportation.
Features of the truck include a micro-turbine-hybrid power train and a trailer made almost exclusively of carbon fiber. A convex nose to the truck allows the driver to sit in the center of the truck and also provides more aerodynamic operation.
Because of the driver's position in the center of the cab, gauges are situated on LCD screens to the right and left. Truck design also allows for more space in the 53-foot trailer.
New fuel-economy rules looming for medium and and heavy-duty trucks will go into effect in 2019, leaving haulers looking to be more efficient.
"We're excited to lead and innovate in sustainability, and the new WAVE concept truck is a bold leap forward in how we think about fleet efficiency," Tracy Rosser, senior vice president of transportation for Walmart, said in a statement. "Like the concept cars at auto shows, you won't see this on the road any time soon, but the advances in technology and the lessons we learn from this project will have impacts on the industry."
Walmart and J.B. Hunt are far from the only contributors to the industry in Benton, Madison and Washington counties. Trucking and transportation in Northwest Arkansas is a mix of for-hire and private fleets. J.B. Hunt and P.A.M. Transportation Services of Tontitown are publicly traded carriers that rank among Transport Topics' Top 100 largest operations.
McKee Foods Transportation, which hauls for Little Debbie; Tyson Foods and Walmart Transportation are among Transport Topics' Top 100 shipper-owned fleets. McKee Foods, located in Gentry, ranks No. 87, while Walmart is No. 4 and Tyson No. 11.
There are 14 total transportation companies based in the three-county area, according to the Arkansas Trucking Association.
NW News on 03/23/2014