Engineering & Technology Intern: Application Development

J.B. Hunt Transport Services is marking its 65th anniversary, with President and CEO Shelley Simpson reflecting on the company's growth strategy and future direction. Simpson, who has been with the company for over 32 years, emphasises that success in freight transportation requires reliable service, disciplined decisions, and the ability to adapt to change. The company is investing in technology through its partnership with UP.Labs, co-designing startups to address industry challenges. Overroute, the first startup launched through this initiative, uses AI to manage freight workflow exceptions. J.B. Hunt recently reported strong second-quarter results, with revenue increasing 19% and operating income rising 32% year over year. Simpson attributes this performance to investments in people, technology, and capacity as the freight market begins to tighten after several challenging years.

InfraRed Capital Partners takes majority stake in Rail Modal Group, accelerating embedded finance in intermodal logistics. InfraRed Capital Partners has announced a majority-stake acquisition of Rail Modal Group, the U.S. inland intermodal rail terminal and export logistics platform, signaling a strategic push into supply-chain-focused fintech infrastructure. The deal, unveiled on Aug. 3, 2026, places InfraRed - an international infrastructure asset manager - at the helm of RMG's network of rail-to-port terminals that consolidate agricultural freight into 100-plus-car unit trains bound for West Coast container ports. While the announcement reads like a classic infrastructure transaction, the underlying technology platform and its integration potential with digital payments, open banking, and embedded finance solutions make the move highly relevant for enterprise marketing teams and fintech innovators alike. The deal in detail. InfraRed's value-add fund acquired a controlling interest in Rail Modal Group, founded in 2018 by Greg Oberting, who will remain CEO. Financial terms were not disclosed. InfraRed's partner for the Americas, Filip Guz, highlighted RMG's "asset-backed platform" and "compelling pipeline of growth opportunities." The acquisition aligns InfraRed's capital-intensive expertise with RMG's proven logistics model, which has shipped more than 1,200 unit trains - equivalent to roughly 200 million truck miles - since inception. How RMG's technology works. RMG operates a software-driven transloading hub that receives bulk agricultural products at inland terminals, consolidates them into containerized loads, and dispatches full-length unit trains to maritime gateways. The platform's core features include: * Real-time freight visibility through IoT sensors and a cloud-based TMS that integrates with Class I railroads and ocean carriers. * Dynamic capacity allocation powered by algorithms that match shipper demand with available rail slots, reducing dwell time by up to 15 % according to an internal RMG study. * Embedded payment rails that trigger electronic invoices the moment cargo is loaded, enabling instant settlement via ACH or API-enabled digital wallets. These capabilities already intersect with fintech trends. The embedded payment layer, for example, can be extended through open banking APIs to offer producers immediate working-capital financing, while blockchain-based provenance tags could certify organic or non-GMO status for downstream buyers. Why the acquisition matters for fintech. The logistics sector is increasingly becoming a playground for fintech services. Gartner predicts that 70 % of supply-chain finance transactions will be fully digital by 2027, and the United States agricultural export market - valued at $140 billion in 2023 (Statista) - offers a massive pool of repeat, high-value transactions. By coupling RMG's physical infrastructure with InfraRed's capital, the combined entity can: * Launch embedded financing products that automatically extend credit to shippers at the point of booking, a model championed by financial platforms like Stripe Treasury and Amazon Business. * Integrate with open-banking ecosystems (e.g., Plaid, Yodlee) to pull real-time balance data, allowing dynamic discounting and early-payment incentives. * Deploy blockchain ledgers for immutable tracking of container custody, a feature that could satisfy compliance demands from retailers using Salesforce's sustainability cloud. For enterprise marketing teams, the synergy creates a data-rich environment where transactional metadata can be leveraged for account-based campaigns. Marketers can segment shippers by freight volume, financing usage, and sustainability certifications, then personalize outreach through Adobe Experience Cloud or Microsoft Dynamics 365. Competitive landscape. RMG competes with a handful of intermodal specialists such as Hub Group, J.B. Hunt's Intermodal division, and the emerging blockchain-focused platform CargoX. While these rivals focus primarily on physical capacity, RMG's technology stack differentiates itself by embedding financial services directly into the freight workflow. This "finance-first" approach mirrors the trajectory of embedded finance platforms like Square's Seller Loans, but applied to a B2B logistics context. InfraRed's entry also puts pressure on traditional banks that have historically provided trade finance to agricultural exporters. As fintech solutions erode the friction of legacy paperwork, banks will need to partner with platforms that already own the data pipeline - something InfraRed and RMG can now claim. Implications for enterprise marketing teams. * Data-driven targeting - The combined platform will generate granular shipment-level data, enabling marketers to build predictive models for cross-sell of financing products. * Co-branded experiences - Partnerships with cloud providers like Google Cloud can power analytics dashboards that showcase ROI for shippers using embedded payment options. * Content personalization - Using AI-generated insights from the logistics-finance engine, marketers can craft hyper-relevant case studies for verticals such as grain, soy, and specialty crops. In short, the acquisition transforms a logistics play into a fintech-enabled ecosystem, giving enterprise marketers a new lever for revenue growth and customer loyalty. Market landscape. The intermodal rail market moves over 40 % of long-distance freight in the U.S. (IDC), and rail-to-port transloading is a critical node for the $1.5 trillion agricultural sector. As climate-policy pressures push shippers toward lower-carbon transport modes, rail's energy efficiency - up to 75 % less CO[2] per ton-mile than trucking (McKinsey) - offers a compelling value proposition. Simultaneously, the fintech industry is witnessing a surge in embedded finance, projected by Forrester to generate $7 trillion in incremental GDP by 2030. The convergence of these trends creates a fertile ground for platforms that can marry physical freight handling with digital financial services. Top insights. * InfraRed's majority stake gives RMG access to $2 billion of infrastructure capital, accelerating terminal expansion and technology upgrades. * Embedded finance within RMG's TMS can reduce shipper DSO from 45 days to under 30 days, improving cash flow for agricultural producers. * By leveraging open-banking APIs, RMG could offer instant credit lines that are 20 % cheaper than traditional bank loans, according to a recent Forrester benchmark. * The acquisition positions RMG as a potential "logistics-as-a-service" provider, rivaling pure-play SaaS fintech firms in the B2B space. * Enterprise marketers will gain a new source of high-intent leads through real-time freight-finance data, enabling more precise ABM campaigns. * News * August 3, 2026 SS&C Powers First Plus' Cross-Border Ops in APAC. 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Freight rates are rising due to capacity constraints rather than demand surges, according to Q2 earnings from major trucking and rail carriers. A FreightWaves analyst expects the capacity-driven tightening to continue through at least 2027. JB Hunt reported 19% year-over-year revenue growth, beating earnings estimates by nearly 10%, driven primarily by intermodal. Knight-Swift exceeded expectations with 12.6% revenue growth and noted regulatory pressures forcing non-compliant capacity from the market. Spot rates currently sit at $3.53 per mile versus an annual average of $2.79, whilst contract rates have risen 18% year-over-year. Tender rejections remain elevated at 15.44%. Three Class 1 railroads posted strong results, with Union Pacific, CSX, and Norfolk Southern reporting revenue growth between 10% and 12%.