J.B. Hunt Increases 3Q Revenue 7 Percent

Lowell’s J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. reported a 7 percent increase in third quarter operating revenue from $583 million in 2002 to $622 million. Fuel surcharge revenue had a significant impact on numbers, the company said, since the amount of fuel surcharge revenue billed in the third quarter 2003 was $8.6 million more than 2002’s comparable frame.r

The third quarter revenue from JBT, the firm’s J.B. Hunt Truck division, was $214 million compared to $215 million a year ago. The earnings can be thought of as equal, the firm said, because the amount of fuel surcharge was excluded from both years making the segment revenue decrease about 2 percent.r

That decrease, the firm said, was due to a 5 percent increase in revenue loaded per mile, exclusive of fuel charges; a 1 percent decrease in the size of the tractor fleet; and, a 5 percent dip in miles driven per tractor.r

The third quarter revenue of the JBI segment, the J.B. Hunt Intermodal division increased 16 percent to $241 million from 2002’s $207 million.r