One of North America’s largest intermodal rail providers has partnered with a leading North American supply chain solutions provider to launch an intermodal service to meet highway freight needs.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. and BNSF Railroad have partnered to create a new transportation service model called Quantum. The new model promises to provide an optimized transportation system for “service-sensitive highway freight,” per J.B. Hunt’s webpage.
On November 7, both entities announced the launch of the new Quantum intermodal service. Operators from both entities are working together at the Intermodal Innovation Center located at the BNSF headquarters in Fort Worth.
The Quantum program provides personalized solutions for customers based on their operational procedures, service expectations, and transit requirements.
Officials anticipate that Quantum customers will receive “up to 95 percent on-time delivery service approximately a day faster than traditional intermodal service,” according to a press release. Pricing will vary based on the needs of the customers. Representatives from the companies also claimed the new system will reduce carbon emissions.
“Converting over-the-road highway freight to rail intermodal is the most widely available ground transportation solution for cutting carbon emissions, reducing a shipment’s carbon footprint by an average of 60 percent compared to over-the-road truck transportation,” reads a press release.
“Quantum allows customers with service-sensitive freight to benefit from the cost savings of intermodal while reducing their carbon footprint and maintaining the level of service and consistency needed in their supply chains,” said Darren Field, president of intermodal at J.B. Hunt.
“Our joint service and capacity are unmatched. When combined with J.B. Hunt’s broad range of flexible solutions, there’s no provider in the industry who can match Quantum’s ability to move your most important freight,” he said.
Tom Williams, group vice president of consumer products at BNSF, said he and the company are excited to initiate the new program.
“Built on a long-standing strategic partnership foundation and decades of intermodal capacity expansion investments, Quantum will provide a faster and more consistent intermodal solution to customers,” said Williams, per the press release.
“Our new Intermodal Innovation Center will foster continued collaboration between our companies to continue evolving with our customers’ supply chain needs and create the intermodal solution of the future,” he said.
