Who Competes with J.B. Hunt Transport Services?

J.B. Hunt Transport’s (JBHT) peer group includes trucking companies that compete in the national marketplace and some of the US Class I railroads. The company updates its peer group every year. The prior peer group included 15 companies while the current peer group has 12 companies. According to the company, AMERCO (UHAL), ArcBest Corporation (ARCB), and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) are not its peer group companies.

The current peer group companies are:

• Avis Budget Group (CAR)
• C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW)
• CSX Corporation (CSX)
• Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD)
• Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ)
• Hub Group (HUBG)
• Kansas City Southern (KSU)
• Landstar System (LSTR)
• Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC)
• Ryder System (R)
• Swift Transportation (SWFT)
• UTI Worldwide (UTIW)

Avis Budget Group (CAR) is a provider of vehicle rental and car-sharing services. Its truck rental segment provides truck rental services in the United States. It recorded a slight revenue growth of 0.2% in 2015.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) renders freight transportation services and logistics solutions to companies in multiple industries. It recorded a flat revenue growth in 2015.

Expeditors International of Washington (EXPD) provides global logistics services, including customs brokerage. The company’s revenues grew by ~1% in 2015.

Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) operates a car rental business through its Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, and Firefly brands. Its revenues dipped by nearly 5% in fiscal 2015.

UTI Worldwide (UTIW) offers truckload brokerage, customs brokerage, contract logistics, and ocean and air freight forwarding services. All these companies compete with JBHT in the asset-light business space.

LSTR provides integrated transportation management solutions across multiple transportation modes. The company operates in two segments.

The Transportation Logistics segment offers a range of integrated transportation management solutions while the Insurance segment provides risk and claims management services to some of LSTR’s operating subsidiaries. This company competes with JBHT in the Full Truckload as well as the Brokerage segment. In 2015, LSTR recorded a revenue growth of 4.2%.

Ryder System (R) provides commercial fleet management and supply chain solutions. The first segment, Fleet Management solutions, renders contract maintenance, commercial rental, and related maintenance of trailers, trucks, and tractors in the US, UK, and Canada.

Its second segment, Supply Chain Solutions, offers distribution and transportation services in North America and some parts of Asia. Ryder contends with J.B. Hunt in the dedicated carrier space. The company’s revenue growth went into the red by 1% in 2015.

Swift Transportation (SWFT) manages a fleet of truckload equipment in North America. The company operates in four segments: Truckload, Dedicated, Central Refrigerated, and Intermodal. It competes with JBHT in almost all of the latter’s business verticals. SWFT reported a revenue growth of about -2% in 2015.

Investors can opt for the Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLI). Some prominent trucking companies make up 1.74% of XLI’s portfolio.

Continue reading for an assessment of J.B. Hunt’s debt levels.