Wabash Receives Orders from J B Hunt
Sep 5, 2001 12:00 PM
Wabash National Corporation announced September 5 that it has received orders exceeding $70 million from J B Hunt Transport Services.The orders are for 6,000 53-ft domestic containers and for a smaller number of container chassis. The containers will be a new design using Wabash’s proprietary Duraplate technology. The stackable, high-cube design features an uninterrupted sidewall and interior dimensions that will resemble a conventional van trailers.
The new containers will be the first 53-ft units in the J B Hunt fleet with the ability to be positioned on the bottom of a double-stack railcar. They also will be the first production domestic containers to use Duraplate material, according to Wabash.
The order will enable J B Hunt to replace its 48-ft intermodal container fleet with exclusively 53-ft stackable containers.
“Our intermodal customers will have North America’s largest fleet of exclusively 53-ft containers at their disposal,” says Kirk Thompson, president and CEO of J B Hunt Transport Services. “Our rail partners will have the option of stacking the new containers on top in traditional configurations or in the bottom of 53-ft rail cars.”
Thompson also said with a fleet exclusively of 53-ft equipment, logistics will be simplified. He also expects a substantial reduction in maintenance costs.
