Freight brokers call market bottom, look for spring tightening

Apr 24, 2019 at 08:43 AM CST - 1
Take J.B. Hunt’s (NASDAQ: JBHT) brokerage, Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), as an example. Hunt reported first quarter earnings on April 15. ICS posted volume growth of 15 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, but revenue per load dropped 11.5 percent to $1,041. In other words, ICS grew its volumes by cutting prices by double-digits. Still – and this is why market conditions were so favorable for brokerages this past quarter – ICS was able to widen its gross margins from 14.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to 16.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.

Apr 24, 2019 at 08:43 AM CST

- 1

Take J.B. Hunt’s (NASDAQ: JBHT) brokerage, Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS), as an example. Hunt reported first quarter earnings on April 15. ICS posted volume growth of 15 percent year-over-year in the first quarter, but revenue per load dropped 11.5 percent to $1,041. In other words, ICS grew its volumes by cutting prices by double-digits. Still – and this is why market conditions were so favorable for brokerages this past quarter – ICS was able to widen its gross margins from 14.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 to 16.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019.