CONTACT: STEVE PALMER -- EXEC. V.P. HUMAN RESOURCES AND RISK
MANAGEMENT -- J.B. HUNT TRANSPORT

A new compensation program recently announced by J.B. Hunt Transport is hitting its mark by
attracting the attention of experienced truck drivers.

Scheduled to take effect Feb. 25, the pay scale for over-the-road (OTR) irregular route truck
drivers who start with J.B. Hunt will be 33 percent higher than its current rate. J.B. Hunt will pay
37 cents per dispatched mile for those with one to five years experience, 38 cents per dispatched
mile for drivers with five to 10 years experience, and 40 cents per dispatched mile for those with
10-plus years experience.

The package makes good sense from a corporate standpoint, said Steve Palmer, J.B. Hunt
executive vice president of human resources and risk management. "Historically, the trucking
industry has suffered from a high turnover," he explained. "We've recruited from truck driving
schools as well as our own schools, and incurred a lot of costs in advertising and safety because the
learning curve was so high. Yet, we found the turnover was higher with new drivers than those
with experience. We decided we had more money to pay as long as we could attract more
experienced drivers."

Palmer said the program has already captured the interest of drivers who recently left the industry,
especially those who felt they weren't being paid enough to remain in the industry as OTR drivers.
"What we're finding has been surprising. More than 50 percent of experienced drivers we're
hiring have over five years of experience, compared to the 10 or 20 percent we anticipated. We're
also getting drivers from competitors which we probably would not have gotten before, which tells
us they view the pay increase as very important. We did not initiate this new program to impact
the industry, but to help with our situation."

Headquartered in Lowell, Arkansas, J.B. Hunt owns 9000 trucks and employs approximately
13,000 individuals, about 70 percent of who are truck drivers. The company services the 48
continental U.S. states, Canada and Mexico.

J.B. Hunt is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are subject to drug screening. Readers
interested in employment opportunities should call 1-800-2JB-HUNT.

All contents Copyright � 1997,JBHunt