J.B. Hunt marks 35 years of intermodal service

Lowell-based carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced Thursday (Feb. 6) it has provided intermodal service for 35 years. The first J.B. Hunt intermodal load departed Chicago “on a February morning in 1990,” according to the company.

This was the result of a novel collaboration between trucking and railroad companies. On Nov. 1, 1989, Mike Haverty, president of Santa Fe Railroad (now BNSF Railway), invited J.B. Hunt co-founder Johnnie Bryan Hunt on a train ride to discuss bringing together “the cost-efficiency of rail transportation with the agility of highway trucking,” according to a J.B. Hunt blog post.

“They came up with this idea of putting the trailers on the trains,” said Johnelle Hunt, wife to Hunt and J.B. Hunt co-founder. “And look what we have today just because of the friendship of two people that said it can be done when others thought it couldn’t.”

The two men traveled west from Chicago by rail, and by the end of the journey, they agreed to put J.B. Hunt trailers on trains. They named the service Quantum.

“A simple handshake marked the beginning of a decades-long strategic alliance that would change the industry forever,” according to the post. “35 years later, J.B. Hunt is North America’s largest intermodal provider, and BNSF is the largest intermodal rail network.”

J.B. Hunt’s intermodal service started with 150 trailers and has grown to a company-owned fleet of more than 122,000 containers and 6,500 trucks. The trucks transport freight to and from the railroad, which is known as drayage. The company double-stacked the containers to reduce loading and unloading time and improve efficiency.

“Intermodal started as an idea to bring two services together and create a customer-focused, efficient solution,” said Shelley Simpson, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt. “This dream was brought to life by teams working closely together, never losing faith in the belief of a better way to move freight, one rooted in integrity, respect, safety and excellence. It changed freight transportation forever and set the company on a path of continued innovation, sparking 35 years of growth and expansion.”

By 2000, intermodal service had become a business segment within J.B. Hunt. In 2003, it became the company’s largest revenue source. It still is, comprising 49% of its revenue and 52% of its operating income in 2024.

In 2010, the intermodal segment moved more than 1 million loads in one year for the first time. In 2018, the company moved a record 2 million loads in one year. The segment continues to set records for quarterly, monthly and weekly intermodal volumes in 2024. In a recent earnings call, company executives said intermodal volumes were at record levels in the third and fourth quarters of 2024.

“The long-term impact of intermodal demonstrates just how groundbreaking the service has been,” said Darren Field, president of intermodal at J.B. Hunt. “Intermodal has been a driving force for reducing the amount of long-haul over-the-road freight. This means unmatched efficiency and sustainability benefits for customers. For our drivers, it gives them more quality time at home with their families.”

J.B. Hunt opened its first transload facility in 2021 to better serve customers with international freight and has since expanded to several additional locations, including five of the largest ocean ports and the largest land port of entry into the United States.

In 2022, J.B. Hunt announced plans to expand its intermodal fleet to up to 150,000 containers by 2027. BNSF has also invested more than $11 billion in capital projects since 2022, including tracks, railcars, facilities, and the Barstow International Gateway in California.

In 2023, J.B. Hunt, BNSF Railway, and GMXT launched a Mexico service through the Eagle Pass, Texas, border crossing. Also in 2023, J.B. Hunt and BNSF Railway reintroduced Quantum to accommodate “service-sensitive highway freight needs of customer supply chains,” according to the release.

In 2024, J.B. Hunt acquired the intermodal assets of Walmart Inc. as part of a multiyear intermodal service agreement.

J.B. Hunt also noted the environmental impact of intermodal by converting over-the-road shipments to rail, which on average reduces a shipment’s carbon footprint by 65% compared to highway truck transportation. Over the past decade, the company’s intermodal service has helped to avoid about 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions.