Third quarter net earnings for truckload carrier J.B. Hunt Transport Services fell to $40 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with $60.3 million, or 47 cents a share in the third quarter of 2008
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In addition, the company's operating revenue slipped 16 percent to $834 million, while revenue for year-ago period was $996 million. The company attributes the drop to lower fuel surcharge revenues as a result of lower fuel costs, and declines in intermodal and truckload pricing.

Operating income in the third quarter was down 33 percent to $71 million, compared to $106 million in 2008. The company's intermodal, integrated capacity solutions and truck segments were all affected by lower freight rates.

"The freight recession that began in the second half of 2006 continued into its third year," said Kirk Thompson, president and CEO. "Our diversified transportation platform has allowed us to weather the storm in relatively strong fashion."

While the company's truck segment was still down from 2008, the segment saw some improvement over the first and second quarters of 2009. The company attributes the improvement to cost control measures, improvements in quality of revenue, refining their network balance, and increased demand in August and September.

Revenue within the truck segment was $119 million, down 30 percent from the year-ago quarter's $170.6 million. Meanwhile, the company saw an operating loss of $400,000, a 117 percent drop from the third quarter of 2008, when income was $2.45 million. The company's first and second quarters saw quarterly losses in the truck segment of $5.8 million and $4 million, respectively.

The company's Integrated Capacity Solutions segment posted revenue of $68 million, a 16 percent boost from the year-ago quarter. The segment's income was down 1 percent to $3 million.

"We have noted some recent signs of firming demand, however, the freight economy remains weak and we are not anticipating a rapid improvement," said Thompson. "Consequently, until freight rates start to return to a reasonable level, margins are unlikely to improve dramatically."