BNSF, J.B. Hunt request arbitration for intermodal agreement revenue division

Written by Mischa Wanek-Libman, editor
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J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., and BNSF have both requested a panel of arbitrators review their Joint Service Agreement revenue division.

The agreement between the two parties dates to 1991 when J.B. Hunt entered into what was then considered a landmark agreement with the Santa Fe Railway, which merged with Burlington Northern in 1995 to form BNSF. The agreement calls for the revenue division to be reviewed quarterly and has not gone to arbitration since 2004. The current request for arbitration pertains to the division of revenue collected since May 1, 2016.

In a statement, J.B. Hunt said, “The fairness of the revenue division has not been reviewed by a third party in more than 10 years, and the intermodal network built by the parties over that time has seen tremendous growth and increased operating complexities.”

J.B. Hunt recognized that the process could be “lengthy and time consuming,” but considers it part of the “normal course of business with the long-term relationship.”

Both BNSF and J.B. Hunt noted that the review will not affect their customers and they are both focused on providing continued excellent intermodal service.

“The ultimate goal is to jointly serve our large and expanding customer base and to continue to provide them with the premier intermodal service they have come to expect from this relationship. Both parties agree that retaining customer service levels and customer confidence is paramount to the success of intermodal and that this administrative proceeding will in no way interfere with that priority,” said J.B. Hunt.

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