J.B. Hunt to Roll Out Prilosec

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. apparently did so well on its “just-in-time” delivery of the latest in the series of Harry Potter books, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” that the Lowell firm has been hired to handle Procter & Gamble’s Sept. 15 nationwide rollout of Prilosec OTC.

The heartburn stopper, which according to an Aug. 20 Associated Press story out of P&G’s hometown of Cincinnati is expected to generate $400 million in annual sales, is the much-awaited over-the-counter version of AstraZeneca’s $4-per-pill wonder drug. The OTC price is expected to be closer to 70 to 80 cents per pill at retailers such as Bentonville’s Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Sam’s Club and a host of others.

According to the same AP story, P&G “plans to have at least 850 trucks delivering its Prilosec OTC” on the rollout date.

J.B. Hunt doesn’t acknowledge much to the media. But a recent memo circulated by the truckload carrier’s president and CEO, Kirk Thompson, detailed some of the pay incentives the firm stands to receive if it meets its deadlines for getting the PPI (proton-pump inhibitor) pills to retailers on time.

We won’t go into specifics, but suffice it to say if consumers can easily find Prilosec OTC on Sept. 15, J.B. Hunt stands a good chance of recording yet another quarter of the order that’s kept its stock price climbing for nearly three years.