About The Founder

(February 28, 1927 – December 7, 2006)

Johnnie Bryan Hunt, founder of J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

As a living example of the American dream fulfilled, J. B. Hunt guided his billion dollar trucking empire with the same enthusiasm and raw fortitude from which it began. Johnnie Bryan Hunt was born in Cleburne County, Arkansas during the depression and like many men of his generation was forced to sacrifice his education in order to work for his family's survival. He left school after the 7th grade, at the age of 12 to work in his uncle's sawmill. In the years that followed he picked cotton, harvested grain, sold lumber, auctioned livestock, drove a truck, sold lawn sod, invented a rice hull press, designed and built a specialty poultry truck, started several businesses, lost thousands of dollars yet made millions more.

After a stint in the Army, J. B. resumed hauling lumber for his uncles back in Heber Springs, Arkansas. He would sell lumber from Monday to Friday on the road and couldn't come home until his load was sold. This helped to refine his salesmanship craft as well as survival techniques. While working in the lumber trade, J. B. dreamed of one day being able to package wood shavings to be sold to the poultry industry. He would spend the next fifteen years perfecting his idea that eventually would use rice hulls. A year later, he launched his first business venture by purchasing a livestock facility with his cousin. Even though the Sale Barn business did not succeed and was later sold, a more lasting relationship was taking hold. The young, 21-year old auctioneer convinced Johnelle DeBusk, his future wife to be, to come along for the ride. The courtship lasted almost 5 years.

J. B. decided there would be more opportunity in a bigger city, so in 1951 he borrowed $10 from a friend and caught a ride to Little Rock, Arkansas. With little money left after he rented a room at the YMCA, he sought a job quickly. He landed a spot at East Texas Motor Freight that required him to drive out of Texarkana, Arkansas. Six months later, he had saved enough money for him and Johnelle to marry in January 1952. After about a year, he took a driving job with Superior Forwarding in Little Rock. He spent the next 9 years driving from Little Rock to St. Louis while his bride was home caring for their children, Jane and Bryan.

Toward the end of his career with Superior his route was switched to eastern Arkansas. It must have seemed like banker's hours to the family since he left at 7 in the morning and returned home about 11 p.m. This run took him through Stuttgart where he noticed rice farmers burning off their hulls. He began rekindling his idea of developing a poultry bedding using this waste product. Since he endured long hours over the road, this method of solving problems became his salvation. He pioneered a method of using rice hulls for poultry litter. In order to begin manufacturing this product, the young entrepreneur had to sell stock in his proposed rice hull plant in one week’s time. Most salesmen would be awed by this deadline, but J. B. assumed the challenge and triumphed.

The time was 1961 and J. B. and Johnelle were embarking on the business adventure of their lives. After the first year's business lost $19,000, everybody advised them to close shop. But they had come too far to give in to pressure. They had sold their house and borrowed all the money they could borrow. They simply had no choice but to persevere. The year after, they made a small profit. Then, the next year, more profit. This upward trend continued and still continues today.

In 1969, J. B. Hunt Transport was born. The trucking company was started with five trucks and seven trailers. In 1983, when J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. went public, the Hunts finally sold their rice hull business in order to concentrate on the trucking company. One might say that the years of sacrifice, exhaustion, and dejection are all part of the costs associated with building a successful empire.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. is the largest publicly held truckload transportation company in North America with annual revenues of more than $2 billion. The company employs over 16,000 employees and operates almost 11,000 trucks and approximately 47,000 trailers and containers. J.B. Hunt is focused on creating supply chain value through a variety of engineered, optimal solutions that include truckload and intermodal transportation services, dedicated fleet management, electronic commerce and logistics management. The company’s stock is traded on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol JBHT and is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

Mr. Hunt was dedicated to a number of organizations throughout his lifetime. He was a member of the American Trucking Association, the American Studies Institute Advisory Board at Harding University, a member of the Board of Directors for the Intermodal Transportation Institute at the University of Denver, a member of the University of Arkansas’ Campaign for the 21st Century, and a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Council.

In 1990, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were chosen as the Arkansas Easter Seal Arkansans of the Year, the first couple to receive this prestigious award. In May 1991, Mr. Hunt was honored by the Arkansas Motor Carriers Association as the first inductee in the AMCA Hall of Fame. Mr. Hunt had the distinguished honor of being inducted into the American Academy of Achievement in June of 1993. He was a recipient of the Transportation Person of the Year award by the Traffic Club of New York in February of 1995; was named the Arkansas Person of the Year by the Arkansas Masonic Lodge in April of 1995; and received the Arkansas Junior Chamber of Commerce Arkansas Pioneer Award. The Arkansas Chapter of the March of Dimes honored both Mr. and Mrs. Hunt by choosing them as the recipients of the 1996 Citizens of the Year Award and later that same year, he served as the Celebrity Chairman for the 2nd Annual March of Dimes Bikers for Babies in Arkansas. In 1999 he was presented with the Salzberg Practitioner Award from Syracuse University in New York for his distinguished service and contributions in the field of transportation and logistics. Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were one of three recipients inducted into the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business Hall of Fame in February 2001. Heroes of Corazon, (heroes of the heart) was presented to them by the Hispanic Press of Northwest Arkansas in September of 2002, and in 2005, Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were recipients of the Washington Regional Foundation Eagle Award.

In May of 1995, Mr. Hunt retired his position as Chairman of J. B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc. and accepted the new position as Senior Chairman. Since his retirement, he pursued other ventures, including real estate development in the local community.