JB Hunt recently announced a positive third-quarter financial result, proving the strength of the trucking industry despite supply chain disruptions and a difficulty for the company in hiring new drivers. Many industry watchers anticipate the supply chain will continue to harm revenues, but JB Hunt shows no sign of slowing down now.
Let’s take a look at the report and what it means for truck drivers.
JB Hunt’s Report Card
JB Hunt announced third-quarter net earnings of $199.8 million, which represented a 59% increase year over year. Total revenue reach $3.14 billion for the quarter.
These results beat the expectations of analysts, due to the issues related to the inability of trucking companies to hire enough drivers as well as delays in the supply chain, especially at ports.
J.B. Hunt CEO John Roberts commented in a conference call that he expects a continuation of “irregularities in demand patterns substantially resulting from port, labor and inventory challenges”.
Due to JB Hunt’s over-performance relative to analyst expectations, the stock price jumped to a new high of $190.55 per share.
An analysis from Entrepreneur summed up JB Hunt’s performance as follows:
The key takeaway is that results could have been better if not for a lack of labor and we don’t see demand subsiding anytime soon. What this means for J.B. Hunt and the trucking industry at large is that business will be strong for some time to come and the only limit to revenue and earnings is how many trucks they can keep on the roads.
What Does this Mean for Truck Drivers?
To put it simply, this is great news for truck drivers. The trucking industry is thriving, but there remains a high demand for drivers.
The so-called “labor shortage” means that trucking companies will have to continue to raise wages and increase benefits for drivers to attract new employees and retain existing drivers. Meanwhile, the positive results in earnings prove that companies like JB Hunt do have the profits and revenue to make these offers to drivers.
The trucking industry is a thriving business, and drivers are needed to relieve the entire country of supply chain panic. It’s a strong market for those with a Class A Commercial Driver’s License.