(Reuters) – U.S. transportation company JB Hunt (NASDAQ:) Transport Services missed Wall Street's first-quarter earnings estimates on Tuesday, hurt by a drop in revenue in its largest segment and pricing pressures in your brokerage business.
The company's shares fell more than 5% in extended trading.
JB Hunt's largest segment, intermodal, which involves shipping goods via two or more modes of transportation, saw a 9% decline in revenue in the quarter ended March 31, while volume segment remained stable compared to the same period in 2023.
Transportation companies in the United States have been seeing weaker transportation volumes as persistent inflation keeps consumer spending on new goods low.
“Overall demand for our domestic intermodal service offering in the quarter was weaker than expected, partly attributable to competition from on-highway truck options on the eastern network,” the company said.
JB Hunt's Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) unit, which provides freight brokerage services, posted an operating loss of $17.5 million in the first quarter, compared with a loss of $5.4 million from the previous year, due to lower contractual and transactional rates and changes in clients. load mix.
Excess capacity in the market forces spot rates to slowly decline, hurting profits for companies like ICS, which connects shippers with truckers.
The Arkansas-based company's net earnings fell 35% to $1.22 per share in the quarter. Analysts on average estimated earnings per share of $1.52 per share, according to LSEG data.
Its total operating income fell 9% to $2.94 billion, missing analysts' estimate of $3.12 billion.
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