More than 35 years ago, on a February morning in 1990, the first J.B. Hunt intermodal load departed Chicago.
It was the industry’s first collaboration between trucking and railroad companies, a service named Quantum. It brought to life the vision of J.B. Hunt founder Johnnie Bryan Hunt and Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway President (now BNSF Railway) Mike Haverty.
“I think you’re probably going to see more people looking at those kinds of partnerships,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch quoted John McQuaid, executive director of the Intermodal Marketing Association, as saying at the time.
It might have been an understatement.
According to the Association of American Railroads, U.S. rail intermodal volume was 13.5 million units in 2022, and half of rail intermodal volume is imports or exports. Accounting for roughly 27% of revenue for major U.S. railroads, that is more than any other single rail traffic segment.
While not a foreign concept today, at the time, trucking companies and railroads were closer to enemies than partners. However, sharing business with a railroad between Chicago and Los Angeles allowed the trucking company to profit from an unprofitable lane.
“It has not been very profitable for us to run trucks in that lane,” J.B. Hunt spokeswoman Molly Remes told the St. Louis newspaper in 1990.
A Simple Idea
J.B. Hunt and Santa Fe signed a deal in December 1989 to launch Quantum.
“We made it clear to J.B. Hunt that Santa Fe doesn’t intend to be in the trucking business,” Haverty told the Chicago Tribune in December 1989. “But if our market share is going to grow we have to reach out beyond the geographic limits of our railroad.”
The idea of intermodal started was simple: Bring two services together and create a customer-focused, efficient solution.
“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,” Shelley Simpson, president and CEO of J.B. Hunt, said in a statement. “It changed freight transportation forever and set the company on a path of continued innovation, sparking 35 years of growth and expansion.”
In September 2023, J.B. Hunt Transport entered into a definitive agreement to buy the brokerage operations of BNSF Logistics, LLC. In November of that year, they announced they would revive the Quantum name.
Success Since the Start
Starting with just 150 trailers, J.B. Hunt Intermodal 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 concept of double-stacking containers reduced load/unload timing and generated efficiency, driving growth and customer adoption.
By 2000, intermodal service had expanded to become a business unit within J.B. Hunt, providing the opportunity to focus on service and operations. JBI became the company’s largest revenue source in 2003 and remains so 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 historical 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,” Darren Field, president of intermodal at J.B. Hunt said in a statement. “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,” Field added. “For our drivers, it gives them more quality time at home with their families.”
Throughout its history, JBI has forged relationships with all major North American rail providers that it still builds on today. “As Mr. Hunt would say, we’re just getting started,” Field said.
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