The transportation service offerings of our JBI segment utilize arrangements with most major North American rail carriers to provide intermodal freight solutions for our customers throughout the continental United States, Canada and Mexico. Our JBI segment began operations in 1989 with a unique partnership with the former Santa Fe Railway (now the BNSF Railway Company), a watershed event in the industry and the first agreement that linked major rail and truckload carriers in a joint marketing environment. Essentially, JBI draws on the intermodal (also known as "container on flatcar") services of rail carriers for the underlying linehaul movement of its equipment and performs the pickups and deliveries ("drayage") for customers at the origin and destination rail terminal locations. We may directly provide the drayage service at either the origin or destination rail ramp utilizing our company-controlled tractors, or we may purchase these services from third parties. JBI provides seamless coordination of the rail and over-the-road transport movements for our customers and delivers a single billing for the complete door-to-door service.
Since 1992, we have offered dedicated contract carriage as a service option. DCS segment operations specialize in the design, development and execution of customer-specific fleet solutions. Capitalizing on advanced systems and technologies, DCS offers transportation engineering solutions that support private fleet conversion, dedicated fleet creation and transportation system augmentation. DCS operations typically provide customized services that are governed by long-term contracts and currently include dry-van, flatbed, temperature-controlled, dump trailers and local inner-city operations.
DCS operations focus on delivering recognizable customer value through best-in-class service, cost control and guaranteed dedicated capacity. DCS utilizes a proprietary methodology known as Customer Value DeliveryŽ (CVD) to create, measure and communicate value created for each customer. DCS leverages the JBHT freight network to reposition equipment near outbound domiciles, thereby reducing inefficient empty miles and system cost. DCS also frequently finds synergy in shared resources with the JBT and JBI segments, including terminals, drivers, maintenance shops, bulk fuel locations and trailer pools providing further economies of scale.
The mission of the J.B. Hunt Integrated Capacity Solutions (ICS) is to provide alternative transportation capacity solutions to customers who desire a significant J.B. Hunt asset presence. ICS will manage customer and carrier relationships to increase efficiency for all supply chain participants and can provide shippers with access to additional dry van, refrigerated and flatbed capacity. ICS leverages over 35 years of expertise to help both shippers and carriers realize the most effective use of their available resources. Only the best carriers are selected by ICS to participate in its carrier program with some of the most stringent carrier requirements in the industry.
Our primary transportation service offerings classified in this segment include full truckload, dry-van freight, which is predominantly transported utilizing company-controlled tractors operating over roads and highways. We pick up our freight at the dock or specified location of the shipper and transport the load directly to the location of the consignee. Most of our loads are transported entirely by our company-owned tractors and employee drivers, or by independent contractors (ICs) who agree to transport freight in our trailers. We also assign freight to be handled by third-party motor carriers other than ICs.