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Yesterday, BNSF Railway Co. and J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. marked the 20th anniversary of their intermodal partnership.

On Feb. 5, 1989, BNSF predecessor The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Co. loaded a J.B. Hunt trailer onto a rail car, ushering in the modern age of intermodalism. The companies aimed to show that railroads and trucking companies could be partners as well as competitors.

"When the partnership started, no one could have imagined the effect it would have on the industry," said Steve Branscum, BNSF vice president-consumer products, in a prepared statetment. "Once thought of as experimental, today intermodal offers shippers innovative, efficient and value-added services that allow them to effectively compete both domestically and worldwide."

BNSF’s and J.B. Hunt’s joint effort began with 150 trailers and five cars moving between Chicago and California; last year, they handled more than 700,000 shipments throughout North America.

"The partnership continues to allow us to offer our customers an array of solutions that consistently meet their unique shipping needs,” said J.B. Hunt Intermodal President Paul Bergant.