Intermodal and non-asset-based business helped J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Lowell, Ark., to second quarter 2008 net earnings of $50.6 million, compared to 2007 second quarter earnings of $63.9 million.
Included in the second quarter 2007 results was a benefit of $10.3 million, net of income taxes, resulting from the settlement of a tax adjustment by the IRS.

Total operating revenue for the current quarter was $977 million, a 14 percent increase from the $856 million for the second quarter 2007. The increase in operating revenue was primarily attributable to sharply higher fuel surcharge revenue and growth in the Intermodal (JBI) segment and the company's non-asset based Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) segment. Current quarter operating revenue, excluding fuel surcharges, increased 3 percent over the second quarter 2007. Containers and trailers grew from 55,886 to 60,290 over the same period. The growth in the fleet of containers and trailers was primarily to support additional intermodal business. The combined tractor fleet declined from 11,760 in the second quarter 2007 to 10,545 in the second quarter 2008, primarily due to our actions to reduce the size of the Truck segment fleet.

Operating income for the current quarter decreased slightly to $94 million vs. $96.2 million for the second quarter 2007. The income tax adjustment referred to above recorded in the second quarter of 2007 was related to a 1999 sale-and-leaseback transaction which had been disclosed previously.

"We are delighted to report earnings per share growth in the second quarter 2008 (excluding the tax benefit in second quarter 2007) despite a significant freight recession and soaring fuel prices," said Kirk Thompson, JBHT President and CEO. "We continue to offer our customers supply chain solutions that best suit their service and cost parameters without bias toward a particular mode or asset class. Importantly, this value enhancing strategy has allowed our customers to partially mitigate the impact of historically higher fuel prices by growing their use of intermodal vs. truckload. Whether it be saving our customers money on their transportation costs by converting truckload freight to intermodal, by offering true dedicated operations for service critical deliveries or by providing alternative outsourced capacity to complement our own trucks, we are committed to helping our customers achieve best-in-class performance of their supply chains."