Dive Brief:
- J.B. Hunt Transport Services’ workforce costs and insurance premiums are expected to face continued inflationary pressure, EVP and CFO John Kuhlow said last week on an earnings call.
- Its Q4 workforce costs rose nearly 5.7% compared to a year ago to $812 million; in insurance and claims, the carrier paid over $300 million annually during the last three years, up from $165 million in 2021, according to the company earnings announcements.
- “Despite two consecutive years of record safety performance, our insurance premiums have more than doubled over that period due to the higher cost to resolve claims,” Kuhlow said. “This is an industry challenge and these inflationary costs will need to be passed on to shippers and eventually consumers.”
Dive Insight:
Trucking businesses and groups are looking for reform and relief across the country, turning to state legislatures to mitigate baseless lawsuits, advocates say.
Legal settlements and verdicts continue to increase in volume and size of the payout amounts, Texas Trucking Association President and CEO John Esparza told Trucking Dive in early January.
States such as Florida, Iowa and Texas have recently passed laws to curb medical and legal costs associated with crashes, but there’s more to be done, trucking advocates say.
“We still have not seen relief ... from insurance rates and still hear concerns trucking companies closing doors,” Esparza said.
Over the last two years out of 1,627 incidents, J.B. Hunt was involved with crashes that killed 55 people and injured 515 people, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration data. The data doesn’t capture who was at fault.
In recent years, the carrier has given out millions of dollars in bonuses to hundreds of drivers reaching million-mile or more safety milestones.
“Our company is rooted in a foundation of safety and is at the core of what we do every day,” Nick Hobbs, COO and president of highway and final mile services, said on the earnings call. “I'm proud to say that 2024 was another record performance for us measured as DOT preventable accidents per 1 million miles. This is the second consecutive year of record performance and a testament to our focus on continuously improving in this area.”
