J.B. Hunt celebrates 35 years of intermodal service

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., one of the largest supply chain solutions providers in North America, recently achieved a major company milestone as its intermodal service surpassed 35 years of operations.

On a February morning in 1990, the first J.B. Hunt intermodal load departed Chicago via the industry’s first collaboration between trucking and railroad companies, bringing to life the vision of company founder Johnnie Bryan Hunt and Santa Fe Railway President (now BNSF Railway) Mike Haverty. The two named the service Quantum, a testament to its innovative approach and potential significance.

“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.”

Starting with just 150 trailers, J.B. Hunt Intermodal (JBI) is now the largest intermodal service in North America, with a company-owned fleet that includes more than 122,000 containers and 6,500 tractors. The company’s innovative concept of double-stacking containers reduced load/unload timing and generated efficiency, which drove growth and adoption among customers.

By 2000, intermodal service had expanded to become its own business unit within J.B. Hunt, providing the opportunity to strategically focus on service quality and operational excellence. JBI would become the company’s largest revenue source in 2003, which it remains today. In 2010, JBI moved more than one million loads in a calendar year for the first time in company history, only to surpass that milestone in 2018 when the company moved two million loads in a year. Most recently, JBI set historic company records for quarterly, monthly and weekly intermodal volumes in 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. Thank you to our people, customers and rail providers all over North America for 35 years of helping us set the standard of great intermodal service. Along with investments in our people, technology and capacity, your momentum continues to fuel intermodal’s potential. As Mr. Hunt would say, we’re just getting started.”

Throughout JBI’s 35-year history, the company has forged relationships with all major North American rail providers that it still builds on today. The company has worked closely with each to improve the operational efficiency of its service, including the addition of features such as onsite terminals and express gates.

Continuous Innovation and Expansion

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, encompassing five of the largest ocean ports and the largest land port of entry into the U.S. In 2023, J.B. Hunt and long-time rail provider BNSF Railway, along with GMXT, introduced a Mexico service through the Eagle Pass, Texas, Border Gateway. That same year, the two would reintroduce Quantum, a J.B. Hunt and BNSF service™, as a breakthrough offering that accommodates the service-sensitive highway freight needs of customer supply chains.

J.B. Hunt Intermodal leads the industry in converting over-the-road shipments to rail, which on average reduces a shipment’s carbon footprint by 65% versus highway truck transportation. Over the past decade, the company’s intermodal service has helped avoid an estimated 30 million metric tons of CO2e emissions.