J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) 16th Annual Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference summary

Market environment and regulatory impacts

• Regulatory enforcement and Supreme Court decisions have significantly tightened truckload capacity since late 2025, with ongoing effects into 2026 and beyond.

• Structural changes, including stricter non-domicile CDL rules and broker liability, are removing tens of thousands of drivers, with estimates of 200,000-400,000 potentially impacted.

• Industry cost categories have risen 30%-50% over five years, creating a need for catch-up in rates and margins.

• Demand remains solid across customer portfolios, with resilience in both consumer and industrial sectors.

• Spot rates and tender rejections have surged, indicating a rapid shift in market dynamics and routing guide failures.

Contracting, pricing, and margin outlook

• Mini-bids and full network rebids are occurring at unprecedented scale, with tender rejections reaching nearly 18%.

• Highway contract rates are seeing double-digit increases, while intermodal rates are lagging but expected to catch up with a typical lag.

• The industry is in a multi-year margin recovery, targeting improvements from volume, price, and efficiency, with $130 million in cost takeout already achieved.

• Dedicated business continues to deliver double-digit returns, with a strong pipeline and plans to grow 800-1,000 trucks this year.

• Margin improvement in intermodal is progressing, with cost and volume gains realized and price gains expected over multiple bid cycles.

Intermodal and network growth opportunities

• Intermodal volumes are at record levels, with strong growth especially in the East, where the gap between highway and intermodal pricing is most significant.

• Consistent, reliable service has restored customer confidence in intermodal, supporting further highway-to-intermodal conversions.

• Eastern network growth reached 8% in Q1, driven by supply chain strategies and shorter-haul conversions.

• The company is expanding the intermodal market by targeting shorter hauls and leveraging operational excellence.

• Pre-funded capacity allows disciplined pricing and supports continued growth without sacrificing margins.