J.B. Hunt (CCJ Top 250, No. 3) has acquired Walmart’s intermodal assets, including Walmart’s operational intermodal container and chassis fleets, the company announced Thursday, tying the two companies together via multi-year intermodal service agreement that the two companies say increases their respective current volume and capacity commitments and enables the development of comprehensive intermodal solutions.
J.B. Hunt has worked with Walmart to provide transportation solutions for decades, and "Mr. Hunt always said ‘Good partners attract good partners,’" said Spencer Frazier, executive vice president of sales and marketing at J.B. Hunt. "Our customers trust us to develop solutions that scale and drive efficiencies across their ever-changing supply chains. Today’s announcement is a testament to the mutual trust and shared vision our companies have developed over time, and innovative arrangements like this one demonstrate J.B. Hunt’s disciplined approach to strategically allocating capital to advance our mission of driving long-term value for our people, customers and shareholders.”
J.B. Hunt is seeking to convert more over-the-road shipments to intermodal, reducing a shipment’s carbon footprint by an average of 60%. Operating one of the largest company-owned intermodal fleets in the world, J.B. Hunt Intermodal specializes in domestic and international freight movement including ocean, transloading, temperature-controlled and expedited capabilities.
“Finding new ways to serve our customers and members and exceed their expectations is important to us,” said Fernando Cortes, senior vice president of transportation at Walmart. “Walmart’s long history of working with J.B. Hunt has many milestones of innovation and growth. This agreement will strengthen our commitment to delivering goods at an every day low cost to our customers and members.”
J.B. Hunt and its long-time joint service provider BNSF Railway last year launched Quantum, an intermodal service to convert service-sensitive highway freight to intermodal. The two also created a new service option to support cross-border freight movement to and from Mexico with coast-to-coast access in the U.S.
