J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc.

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for attending today's J.B. Hunt's 1Q23 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Sierra, and I will be your moderator today. All lines will be muted during the presentation portion of the call with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end. If you would like to ask a question, press star 1 on your telephone keypad. I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Brad Delco, Senior Vice President of Finance with J.B. Hunt. Please proceed.

Good afternoon. Before I introduce the speakers, I would like to take some time to provide some disclosures regarding forward-looking statements. This call may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, estimates, or similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on J.B. Knott's current plans and expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause future activities and results to be materially different from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. For more information regarding risk factors, please refer to J.B. Hunt's annual report on Form 10-K and other reports and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Now, I would like to introduce the speakers on today's call. This afternoon, I am joined by our CEO, Mr. John Roberts, our President, Shelly Simpson, our CFO, John Kulo, Nick Hobbs, COO and President of Contract Services, Darren Fields, President of Intermodal, and Brad Hicks, EVP of People and President of Highway Services. At this time, I'd like to turn the call to our CEO, Mr. John Roberts, for some opening comments. John?

Thank you, Brad, and good afternoon. I'll touch on a few items, but will be brief with my comments as we have members of our leadership team here to cover specific areas of our business. As we have discussed shifting dynamics in the market for several quarters now, it should be evident that freight demand is muted, even when taking into account seasonal factors. As I stated last quarter, I believe this environment presents both opportunities and challenges for our company that will ultimately put us in a better position in the future. I am seeing firsthand how this team, and might I add this experienced team, is responding to set our company up for long-term success and compounding growth as we navigate through these demand patterns. We remain thoughtful in our approach to managing the business and controlling costs where it makes sense without sacrificing our preparedness to capitalize on large, meaningful, and addressable opportunities for the company. We have and will always manage this business with a focus on long-term growth built on our company foundations, people, technology, and capacity. In closing, I remain confident that the collective and complementary nature of our distinct business will again prove resilient in this environment. Coupled with experience, a strong balance sheet, and a long-term mindset, key elements which will continue to differentiate us in the market. We remain committed to investments and achieving our required return on those investments to support our long-term sustainable growth for the benefit of all our stakeholders. Now I'd like to turn the call over to our president, Shelly Simpson, for more details. Shelly?