J.B. Hunt President and CEO Shelley Simpson began her keynote at this year’s F3: Future of Freight Festival by recalling a defining moment in logistics industry history: the famed 1989 handshake between J.B. Hunt himself and Mike Haverty, then-president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.
That handshake heralded a collaboration that would permanently change the way the industry thinks about collaboration. As a result, the first intermodal shipment took place in February 1990.
Since that time, J.B. Hunt has continued to embrace both intermodal shipping itself and the spirit of collaboration that made it possible. Last year, J.B. Hunt partnered with BNSF to launch Quantum, a breakthrough option that makes intermodal a viable option for service-sensitive freight.
Quantum customers are currently seeing on-time service rates over 99%, according to Simpson. The solution’s success is another testament to the power of industry collaboration.
By offering an intermodal solution that is truly competitive with over-the-road options, J.B. Hunt and BNSF are paving the way for a more efficient and safer transportation industry. Intermodal is one of the most efficient modes of transportation, resulting in almost 65% lower carbon emissions per shipment, according to Simpson.
Additionally, Simpson estimated that J.B. Hunt has helped avoid nearly 300 truck-involved fatalities by moving shipments off the roadway and onto intermodal over the past five years alone.
Simpson made it clear that the success of both that first intermodal shipment in 1990 and the Quantum solution today was not merely the result of two visionaries coming together. It was also the result of two teams of people – and their customers – working toward a common goal.
J.B. Hunt’s dedication to “courageous collaboration” goes beyond intermodal. The company eagerly comes together with its peers, customers and other third-party teams at every turn.
The 2017 launch of J.B. Hunt 360°®, the company’s digital freight platform, was the result of collaboration between J.B. Hunt and its customers. Since its initial launch, the platform – and the multimillion-dollar tech investment that followed it – led to the launch of 25 products that change the way the industry operates and open up the door for further collaboration.
J.B. Hunt 360° has effectively helped drive waste out of the supply chain. In fact, the platform has enabled drivers to save 13.5 million empty miles since 2019. J.B. Hunt wants to utilize the same tech-driven commitment to efficiency that drove the creation of J.B. Hunt 360° to create solutions that optimize the entire supply chain – from fulfillment to distribution to transportation.
In order to revolutionize the entire supply chain, companies from across the industry must come together.
Simpson went on to speak about the work J.B. Hunt is doing to address cargo theft, improve safety, support sustainability infrastructure and change the face of dock scheduling. She called for increased industry collaboration in each of these areas in order to create true, industrywide change.
“J.B. Hunt’s vision is to create the most efficient transportation network in North America,” Simpson said. “Our vision as an industry should be to create the most efficient transportation network in North America.”
If the industry is able to rally behind the shared vision of creating the most efficient transportation network possible, new opportunities will open up for companies – and customers – in every sector.
To come together, however, the industry’s propensity toward competition will have to give way to an overarching spirit of collaboration.
“Each one of us has a part. Each one of us has a dream and an idea,” Simpson said. “A simple handshake could change our industry.”
Simpson left the crowd with a simple encouragement: “Be bold. Be courageous. Be collaborative.”