J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., one of the largest transportation logistics companies in North America, operates approximately 12,000 trucks throughout the continental United States, Canada and Mexico. Their business operations are primarily organized through three distinct, yet complementary, business segments that include dry van, inter-modal and dedicated contract services.

Recently, J.B. Hunt’s Dedicated Contract Services (DCS) division recognized an opportunity for one of their large beverage customers. DCS is currently transporting spent grain from the beer making process (called mash) to a farm to be used as animal feed. The customer does not allow the drivers to leave if they are over or under a specific load weight but the exit scale is a quarter of a mile away from the loading area.

After loading, drivers were required to drive to the scale to check the weight, then return to the loading area to either add more mash or shovel off any extra to meet load specifications. This process was an inefficient use of driver’s time and, in turn, impacted the number of loads hauled per day.

Looking at Productivity

In an effort to improve customer productivity, J.B. Hunt evaluated several alternatives and determined that on-board scales would reduce the amount of time drivers spent returning to the loading area. By using Air-Weigh scales, the drivers would know the Gross Vehicle Weight and payload weight, as well as the Steer, Drives and Trailer axle weights, as soon as the mash was loaded. This allowed drivers to avoid return trips and shoveling, thus increasing the number of loads per day those drivers could haul.

Dedicated tractor and trailer scales were installed for a brief trial period. The original test application was set for nine units. However, the trial proved so successful that

J.B. Hunt determined they could maintain the same capacity with seven tractor and trailer combinations. This initial success served as a testimony that Air-Weigh scales could provide significant savings to both J.B. Hunt and their customer.

Looking at Results

“The Air-Weigh Scales allowed us to cut our loading time in half,” according to Shawn Graves, director of business solutions for J.B. Hunt. “They are consistently within 100 lbs of the exit scale and provided us with a method for delivering new value to our customer.”

Air-Weigh is the industry leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of on- board weighing products for the commercial transport industry. Air-Weigh has established itself as the standard of excellence in on-board weighing through an outstanding product line that is unparalleled in accuracy and reliability. Their products feature a patented dual-point calibration system, coupled with several unique proprietary technologies that allow customers to know their detailed axle weights at the loading site.