Jan 15 (Reuters) - U.S. trucking firm J.B. Hunt Transport Services JBHT.O reported a higher fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by strong peak-season shipping demand and cost-reduction efforts across the business.

The peak holiday shipping season, which runs from late November into early January, is critical for freight shippers as volumes surge, and carriers often add seasonal surcharges.

The company has been pursuing cost reductions to boost efficiency, as the trucking market remains in a more than three-year-long downturn marked by excess capacity and only seasonal uptick in volumes, which has kept rates depressed.

However, expectations for a U.S. trucking market turnaround in 2026 are gaining momentum, driven in part by federal regulations to drastically restrict commercial driver licenses to non-U.S. citizens, tightening truckload capacity. But experts warn that freight volumes must pick up for a meaningful recovery.

Intermodal volumes at J.B. Hunt, which involve shipping goods via two or more modes of transport, fell 2% year-over-year in the reported quarter.

The Arkansas-based company reported revenue of about $3.10 billion for the quarter ended December 31, compared with roughly $3.15 billion a year ago.

Quarterly revenue at its final mile services fell 10% to $206 million from a year earlier.

The company's shares were down about 4% in after-market trade.

J.B. Hunt reported fourth-quarter profit of $181.1 million, or $1.90 per share, up from $155.4 million, or $1.53 per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Abhinav Parmar and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

((Abhinav.Parmar@thomsonreuters.com;))