During the second quarter, truckload carrier J. B. Hunt Transport Services' earnings jumped to $52.1 million, or 40 cents a share, compared with $24 million, or 19 cents a share, in the 2009 quarter.
The company attributes the gain to increasing demand for transportation services.

The boost in demand also drove a 22 percent rise in second quarter revenue. The company posted $943 million in revenue, compared to $770 million in the 2009 quarter.

The company's operating income gained 94 percent year-over-year, rising to $91 million from $47 million for the second quarter 2009.

"Scarcity of capacity in intermodal, truckload and brokerage markets was quite pronounced in the current quarter," said Kirk Thompson, president and CEO. "We saw our business improve sequentially throughout the quarter as reflected in higher prices in intermodal and truck as the quarter unfolded."

The company's intermodal segment posted revenue of $526 million, up 24 percent, and operating income of $59.5 million, up 54 percent from the year ago.

The truck segment saw revenue up 15 percent to $125 million, while operating income was $7.2 million, compared with $4 million in the 2009 quarter.