J.B. Hunt reports lower earnings

J.B. Hunt reports lower earnings

   J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. said 2007 fourth quarter earnings were $54.3 million versus $57.8 million in the same 2006 period.

   Operating revenue for the quarter was $945 million compared to $852 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

   Kirk Thompson, the company’s president and chief executive officer, said the firm was making progress “toward moving our economic model from that of a primarily asset based truckload carrier of the past to an asset-light transportation company.

   “We plan to continue to grow the segments that are producing acceptable returns on invested capital while reducing the truck segment until acceptable margins are achieved,” he added, noting that the company’s intermodal business “had the best fourth quarter ever and our best year in history in 2007.”

   He also said the company dedicated contract services segment “fared well in a difficult freight environment.”

   In the fourth quarter the company reported segment revenue as follows:

   ' Intermodal, $482 million, up 25 percent.

   ' Dedicated Contract Services, $239 million, up 2 percent.

   ' Truck, $197 million, down 14 percent.

   ' Integrated Capacity Solutions, $36 million, up 259 percent.

   The company noted there is about a $9 million overlap in those categories that it deducts from total revenue.