Increased revenues in the intermodal and dedicated business helped J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Lowell, Ark., report higher earnings for the last quarter.

The company announced second quarter 2002 net earnings of $15.5 million
, compared with 2001 second quarter earnings of $8.6 million. Total operating revenue for the quarter was $557 million, compared with $521 million during the second quarter of 2001.
During the second quarter of 2002, revenues of the company's truck segment were essentially flat, while the intermodal segment revenue rose 10% over the comparable period of 2001. Dedicated segment revenue increased 12% during the current quarter.
According to the company, earnings improved significantly in the quarter as the operating leverage attributable primarily to the truck segment began to be realized to a greater degree. Net revenue (excluding fuel surcharges) per tractor per week improved 3.2% over the second quarter of 2001 in spite of a decline in miles per tractor per week.
Hunt officials say contributing to the decline in miles was the continuing slowness of the economy, particularly in April. However, they note utilization improved throughout the quarter and by June, miles per tractor per week approximated June 2001 levels. Rate yields continued to improve as the loaded rate per mile (excluding fuel surcharges) increased 4.2% relative to a year ago. In spite of the continuing recession, empty miles declined significantly to 9% vs. 12% for the second quarter a year ago.
Company officials say they have no plans to add capacity in the truck segment until satisfactory margins are achieved.
In the intermodal segment, revenue per loaded mile (excluding fuel surcharge) was up 0.5% when compared with the same period in 2001. Based on early July numbers, the company reports load volumes appear to be in line with expectations, suggesting that a significant number of loads were not shifted into the second quarter in anticipation of a possible work stoppage or slowdown by port workers on the West Coast.
The operating ratio for the DCS segment was 95.5% for the current quarter, an 80 basis point improvement over the same period a year ago. The increase in DCS revenue was driven by growth in the fleet of 267 tractors, new contractual arrangements and growth with existing customers. Revenue per tractor per day increased 6.6%, partially due to new fleet projects that resulted in activating trucks that had been idle. Toward the end of the quarter as overall freight volumes began to improve, backhaul revenue for the last 4 weeks increased 2% over the average of the last 12 weeks.