J.B. Hunt drops over 4% after Q1 results, trucking peers under pressure

Shares of trucking stocks are falling after-hours on Monday after peer J. B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) reported first quarter earnings and sales that missed analyst expectations. J. B. Hunt said it earned $119.6M, or $1.09 a share, in the quarter, compared with $118.1M, or $1.07 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue grew approximately 2%, reflecting a 10% increase in revenue per load, which is determined by the combination of customer rates, fuel surcharges, and freight mix and the 7% decline in volume. Revenue per load, excluding fuel surcharges, increased approximately 11% year over year. Total operating revenue for the current quarter was $2.09B compared with $1.95B for the first quarter 2018. Analysts had expected earnings of $1.26 a share on sales of $2.2B. Load volumes declined 7% from the same period 2018. Transcontinental loads declined 8% and the Eastern network load volume declined 7% compared to the prior year. Volumes were affected by the expected rail lane closures and persistent severe winter weather events impacting Chicago operations. Combined, these events represented approximately one half of the volume decline. PRICE ACTION: Shares of J.B. Hunt are down 4.3% to $101.00 in after-hours trading. TRUCKING PEERS PRESSURED: Shares of Werner Enterprises (WERN), Heartland Express (HTLD), Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX), and Landstar System (LSTR) are under pressure in after-market trading.