Canada sales office a first for J.B. Hunt
After doing business in Canada for more than 25 years, J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is opening its first enterprise sales office in the country in Toronto.
This will be the Lowell trucking and logistics company's 42nd sales office, its fourth addition in the past year.
"Providing supply chain solutions for Canada is essential to many of our customers," said Eric McGee, senior vice president of transportation, in a release Thursday.
"This new location will help us enhance our ability to support their international transportation needs and build new relationships."
The U.S.-Canada border is the longest dividing line between nations in the world, and the U.S. Department of State estimates that more than $1.8 billion worth of goods and services move across it every day.
-- Emma N. Hurt
Value ranking is 7th for Wal-Mart brand
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is the seventh most-valuable brand in the U.S., according to an annual report from Brand Finance.
The consultancy firm, which assesses a brand's strength based on factors like marketing investment, familiarity, preference, sustainability and margins, said the value of Wal-Mart's brand increased 16 percent to $62.2 billion compared with $53.6 billion a year ago. The value ranked Wal-Mart behind Google ($109.4 billion), Apple ($107.1 billion), Amazon.com ($106.4 billion), AT&T ($87 billion), Microsoft ($76.2 billion) and Verizon ($65.9 billion) on the list of 500 companies.
Sam's Club, which is the Bentonville-based retailer's warehouse division, is the 68th most-valued brand in the U.S., according to Brand Finance. But the value of the Sam's Club brand ($8.7 billion) fell 29 percent -- and 22 spots -- from 2016 partly because of competition and a decline in operating income.
Arkansas' Tyson Foods (No. 142) and Windstream (No. 476) also were among the top 500 brands.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
4 state stocks down as index gains 4.46
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, was up 4.46 to 345.70 Thursday.
All but four stocks gained ground Thursday.
America's Car-Mart rose 4.3 percent in below-average volume.
Simmons First National Bank climbed 3.4 percent in light trading.
Bank of the Ozarks advanced 3.3 percent in average volume.
USA Truck fell the most, losing 1 percent on low volume.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 03/31/2017