JB Hunt trucks were hauling lighter loads during the past few months, a symptom of decreased market demand.
The trucking company reported this week that quarterly profits of $135.9 million marked a downhill slide from $189.6 million in Q2 2023. Operating revenue was down 7% YoY to $2.9 billion.
In a news release, JB Hunt blamed the drop in profitability to lighter loads in a few business segments. It also brought in less money per load in its intermodal segment. Partially offsetting those challenges was 5% revenue growth in its last-mile services segment.
JB Hunt’s sagging second quarter “came amid sagging demand in the US freight market, with rates declining across trucking and rail operations,” the Wall Street Journal reported.
“While admittedly the market has been challenging, we have invested throughout this downturn to set us up for future growth and success across the business,” JB Hunt CEO Shelley Simpson said during an earnings call. “We continue to focus on controlling expenses in the near term without jeopardizing our long-term potential, managing our headcount through attrition, while at the same time continuing to deploy and enhance our technology to increase the productivity of our people.”
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