Dive Brief:
- Shippers are still expecting a peak season this year despite the pull forward of cargo earlier to avert tariffs in the spring and summer, J.B. Hunt Transport Services EVP of Sales and Marketing Spencer Frazier said on a Q3 earnings call.
- “The strong container volume into the West Coast in July generated headlines regarding a potential pull forward. Ocean peak season came early,” Frazier said. However, peak timing on the water is different than it is for the inland supply chain, he said.
- Peak season for inland supply chains is driven by consumer and customer demand, Frazier said. “And that's going to take place the same time it does every year associated with the holidays,” he added.
Dive Insight:
Even though shippers are expecting a traditional holiday peak season, the magnitude and duration of volumes will vary, Frazier said.
Frontloading created a peak environment that impacted trucking stakeholders earlier in the year. J.B. Hunt itself even implemented earlier peak season surcharges in July.
“Our conversations indicate there is a large amount of freight that was imported early that hasn't moved through the inland supply chain yet. No one has canceled Christmas,” Frazier said.
J.B. Hunt sees growing retail sales as another indication of why customers are expecting the traditional holiday peak season.
Retail sales were up 5.72% year over year in September, per data from the National Retail Federation. Against this backdrop, J.B. Hunt’s shipper customers are working to hit their sales targets for the holiday season, with each employing a unique approach to handling peak volumes.
Meanwhile, ongoing tariff actions have fueled growing concerns for the trucking industry and impacted the flow and patterns of cargo shipments.
With the transportation industry not in optimal financial health, shippers at this time are more focused on working with carriers that can provide agility and predictability, Frazier said.
