J.B. Hunt Sees 3Q Earnings Sink On Falling Demand

Trucking company J.B. Hunt Transportation Services on Monday reported a dip in third-quarter earnings, as demand for its trucking services continued to fall.

Trucking company J.B. Hunt Transportation Services on Monday reported a dip in third-quarter earnings, as demand for its trucking services continued to fall.  

According to an earnings statement, the company saw overall operating income for the most recent quarter drop 6 percent to $183 million on $1.69 billion in revenue.

The company attributed the drop to "lower customer rates in JBI, ICS and JBT, increased rail purchase transportation rates, lower box turns, increases in driver wages and recruiting costs, losses on the sale of used equipment (versus gains in 2015), increased legal and consulting costs
and higher equipment maintenance and ownership costs."

Operating income for the company's trucking division was down 55 percent compared to the year-ago quarter. The company said in a statement that favorable changes from an increased fleet count and improved utilization were more than offset by lower customer rates per mile, increased equipment maintenance costs, higher safety and insurance costs and increased driver hiring costs compared to third quarter 2015.

J.B. Hunt posted an overall  profit of $109.4 million, or 97 cents a share. That's down from the $115 million, or 99 cents a share, the company posted a year earlier. 

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