Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. trucking firm J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT.O on Wednesday reported a 12% rise in third-quarter profit, driven by ongoing cost-cutting measures initiated in response to a freight downturn in the industry.
Shares of the company were up 11% in after-market trading.
The trucking industry has been in decline since 2022, driven by excess capacity, falling freight rates, and modest growth in shipment volumes.
Experts anticipate the downturn will persist, with tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump adding pressure and delaying recovery.
The Arkansas-based company reported net earnings of $170.9 mln, or $1.76 per share, for the quarter ended September 30, up from $152.1 mln, or $1.49 per share, a year ago.
It reported revenue of $3.05 billion, slightly lower than $3.07 billion in the year-ago quarter, but above analysts' estimate of $3.03 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue performance was driven by a 1% and 4% decline in gross revenue per load in the intermodal and truckload segments, respectively, the company said.
J.B. Hunt also noted an 8% decrease in load volume during the reported quarter in its Integrated Capacity Solutions segment and 1% in the Dedicated Contract Services segment, as well as 8% fewer stops in Final Mile Services business.
(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
((Abhinav.Parmar@thomsonreuters.com;))