When J. B. Hunt initiated operations with five trucks and seven refrigerated trailers in 1969, they probably never dreamed they would come so far. In 2004, the company achieved important recognitions such as being named by Forbes Magazines among Platinum 400 of America's best managed companies for the second consecutive year. They also won the Excellent Supplier Award from PPG Industries and have been ranked #4 on the list of best places to work in Information Technologies by Computerworld.
Today, this company has subsidiaries to supply transportation services in the United States, Canada and Mexico. J. B. Hunt principally transports forest and paper products, building materials, general merchandise, food and beverages, chemicals and automotive parts. It is managed in three segments, which are Full Truck-Load Dry Van (JBT), Intermodal (JBI) and Dedicated Contract Services (DCS). The first one offers truckload and dry-van freight using company-owned tractors or using independent contractors. It also assigns freight to third-party carriers. The second one supplies Intermodal freight solutions offering coordination of the movements in the rail and over-the-road transport. Finally, the DCS is engaged in the design, improvement and implementation of customer-tailored fleet solutions.
Johnnie Bryan Hunt, founder of the company, was born in Cleburne County, Arkansas during the depression. Those were very hard times in which he even had to sacrifice his education to work for his family for survival. It was thanks to his strong attitude and enthusiasm that he overcame the obstacles to build a solid trucking empire as it is J. B. Hunt Transport Services today. This company it is the true living example of the American dream.
Recently, the company was honored with the bronze 2005 Alexander Hamilton Award for its exceptional performance inside the insurance category. Each year this award is presented by Treasury and Risk Management magazine. The award is named in honor of one of the United States most prominent and brilliant early constitutional lawyers. Alexander Hamilton was an influential politician and also was the first Secretary of the Treasury, establishing the First Bank of the US.
J. B. Hunt treasury and finance team made a great work creating an innovative project that was chosen for its efficiency and potential to influence others. It is worth to underline that the company was the only transportation company to win an award in any category. Its commitment with safety has made that they obtained significant results as insurance saving in 2004 against the same time period in 2003 including a 48% reduction in major accidents claims. In addition, they had a 13% reduction in major workers payment claims.