BNSF, J.B. Hunt to enter arbitration over revenue division

BNSF Railway Co. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. announced yesterday they both have exercised their right to arbitrate a revenue division in a joint service agreement.

The service agreement provides that the revenue division will be a negotiated provision determined by the companies and reviewed quarterly, according to a J.B. Hunt press release.

The arbitration involves the division of revenue collected under the agreement as of May 1, 2016, J.B. Hunt officials 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," stated J.B. Hunt's press release.

Although the arbitration proceeding is infrequent and may be "lengthy and time consuming," the company considers it a normal part of business, J.B. Hunt officials added.

Because the agreement's terms and the arbitration proceedings are confidential, BNSF declined to comment on the matter.

"BNSF continues to be focused on providing excellent service to our customers, which will not be affected by this review," BNSF officials said in a press release.