J.B. Hunt Intermodal

JB Hunt owns the intermodal containers and chassis, they are only pulled by and used by JBH drivers, L/O's or approved outside carriers, the containers are only loaded with freight that JBH brokers, keep in mind, JBH is either primary carrier for, or secondary for many large companies (Lowe's, Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, Target) as well as hundreds of others. JBH does not cross dock rail to container.

 

You asked if they are loading freight from rail to truck, that's cross docking, they don't do that.

 

JB Hunt I think is the largest carrier in the United States. They make money.

Basically large trucking companies bid work. So let's say JB Hunt wants to do all Walmart loads out of Arkansas. They bid it and they have all that Freight to move. Some of that will be moved by their own trucks, some of it will be by trucks that are leased on to them, and some of it will be loads that they don't have trucks for so they broker the Freight out. In every instance they are making money.

Intermodal is a business where you need at least 10 trucks for the steam ship lines to speak with you. Someone Like JB Hunt can go to them and say we'll give you a thousand trucks tomorrow we're going to buy all brand new container chassis and there you have it they have the Freight.

Then they calculate how small of an amount of money they can pay an owner operator because that's local Freight and a lot of guys want to do local Freight so the price goes down farther yet and JB Hunt makes more money on top of that.

It's not a difficult thing to understand. Anyone anywhere at any time that's moving a load that came from JB Hunt they are making money on the load.

The owner operator pulling the load probably not so much.

 

Don't know/care where all their intermodal revenue comes from but probably mostly by moving freight on trains, maybe doing some logistics for other companies I suspect. J.B. owns all of their containers and trucks. They pick up a load from Joe Smiths warehouse, put it on a train and at the other end a driver will deliver it to Jack Smiths warehouse. Most, if not all, of their intermodal freight is full truck load with one pick up location and one delivery location.