Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Business	Business: Hub Group, Inc. (“we”, “us” or “our”) provides intermodal transportation services utilizing primarily third party arrangements with railroads. Drayage can be provided by our subsidiary, Hub Group Trucking, Inc., or a third party company. We offer a dedicated fleet of equipment and drivers through Hub Group Dedicated. We also arrange for transportation of freight by truck and perform logistics services. Transportation services are provided through Hub Group and our subsidiary Mode Transportation, LLC. We report two distinct business segments. The first segment is Mode, which includes the Mode business we acquired in 2011. The other segment is Hub, which is all business other than Mode. “Hub Group” includes both segments.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation: The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and all entities in which we have more than a 50% equity ownership or otherwise exercise unilateral control. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents: We consider as cash equivalents all highly liquid instruments with an original maturity of three months or less. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, our cash and temporary investments were with high quality financial institutions in DDAs (Demand Deposit Accounts) and Savings Accounts.
Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts	Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts: In the normal course of business, we extend credit to customers after a review of each customer’s credit history. An allowance for uncollectible trade accounts has been established through an analysis of the accounts receivable aging, an assessment of collectability based on historical trends, including receivable adjustments charged through revenue for items such as disputes, and an evaluation based on current economic conditions. To be more specific, we reserve a portion of every account balance that has aged over one year, a portion of receivables for customers in bankruptcy and certain account balances specifically identified as uncollectible. On an annual basis, we perform a hindsight analysis on Hub and Mode separately to determine each segment’s experience in collecting account balances over one year old and account balances in bankruptcy. We then use this hindsight analysis to establish our reserves for receivables over one year and in bankruptcy. In establishing a reserve for certain account balances specifically identified as uncollectible, we consider the aging of the customer receivables, the specific details as to why the receivable has not been paid, the customer’s current and projected financial results, the customer’s ability to meet and sustain its financial commitments, the positive or negative effects of the current and projected industry outlook and the general economic conditions. The allowance for uncollectible accounts is reported on the balance sheet in net accounts receivable. Our reserve for uncollectible accounts was approximately $8.5 million and $5.4 million as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively. Receivables are written off once collection efforts have been exhausted. Recoveries of receivables previously charged off are recorded when received.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment: Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method at rates adequate to depreciate the cost of the applicable assets over their expected useful lives: building and improvements, up to 40 years; leasehold improvements, the shorter of useful life or lease term; computer equipment and software, up to 10 years; furniture and equipment, up to 10 years; and transportation equipment up to 15 years. Direct costs related to internally developed software projects are capitalized and amortized over their expected useful life on a straight-line basis not to exceed 10 years. Interest is capitalized on qualifying assets under development for internal use. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred and major improvements are capitalized. The cost of assets retired or otherwise disposed of and the accumulated depreciation thereon are removed from the accounts with any gain or loss realized upon sale or disposal charged or credited to operations. We review long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. In the event that the undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset group is less than the carrying amount, an impairment loss equal to the excess of the assets carrying amount over its fair value, less cost to dispose, is recorded.
Goodwill and Other Intangibles	Goodwill and Other Intangibles: Goodwill represents the excess of purchase price over the fair market value of net assets acquired in connection with our business combinations. Goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite useful lives are not amortized but are subject to annual impairment tests. We test goodwill for impairment annually in the fourth quarter or when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of this asset might exceed the current fair value. We test goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level. We assess qualitative factors such as current company performance and overall economic factors to determine if it is more-likely-than-not that the goodwill might be impaired and whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative goodwill impairment test. In the quantitative goodwill test, a company compares the carrying value of a reporting unit to its fair value. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds the estimated fair value, a second step is performed, which compares the implied fair value of goodwill to the carrying value, to determine the amount of impairment. In 2017 and 2016, we performed the qualitative assessment on both the Hub and Mode reporting units and determined it was not, more-likely-than-not, that goodwill might be impaired. We evaluate the potential impairment of finite-lived acquired intangible assets when impairment indicators exist. If the carrying value is no longer recoverable based upon the undiscounted future cash flows of the asset, the amount of the impairment is the difference between the carrying amount and the fair value of the asset.
Concentration of Credit Risk	Concentration of Credit Risk: Our financial instruments that are exposed to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. We place our cash and temporary investments with high quality financial institutions in DDAs (Demand Deposit Accounts) and Savings Accounts. We primarily serve customers located throughout the United States with no significant concentration in any one region. No one customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue in 2017, 2016 or 2015. We review a customer’s credit history before extending credit. In addition, we routinely assess the financial strength of our customers and, as a consequence, believe that our trade accounts receivable risk is limited.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition: Revenue is recognized at the time 1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, 2) services have been rendered, 3) the sales price is fixed and determinable and 4) collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue and related transportation costs are recognized based on relative transit time. Further, in most cases, we report our revenue on a gross basis because we are the primary obligor as we are responsible for providing the service desired by the customer. Our customers view us as responsible for fulfillment including the acceptability of the service. Service requirements may include, for example, on-time delivery, handling freight loss and damage claims, setting up appointments for pick-up and delivery and tracing shipments in transit. We have discretion in setting sales prices and as a result, the amount we earn varies. In addition, we have the discretion to select our vendors from multiple suppliers for the services ordered by our customers. Finally, we have credit risk for our receivables. These three factors, discretion in setting prices, discretion in selecting vendors and credit risk, further support reporting revenue on a gross basis for substantially all of our revenue.
Provision for Income Taxes	Provision for Income Taxes: Deferred income taxes are recognized for the future tax effects of temporary differences between financial and income tax reporting using tax rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. We believe that it is more likely than not that our deferred tax assets will be realized based on future taxable income projections with two exceptions for which we have established valuation allowances. We have established valuation allowances of $0.1 million related to state tax net operating losses and $1.6 million related to state incentive tax credit carryforwards. In the event the probability of realizing the remaining deferred tax assets do not meet the more likely than not threshold in the future, a valuation allowance would be established for the deferred tax assets deemed unrecoverable. Tax liabilities are recorded when, in management’s judgment, a tax position does not meet the more likely than not threshold for recognition as prescribed by the guidance. For tax positions that meet the more likely than not threshold, a tax liability may be recorded depending on management’s assessment of how the tax position will ultimately be settled. We recognize interest expense and penalties related to income tax liabilities in our provision for income taxes.
Earnings Per Common Share	Earnings Per Common Share: Basic earnings per common share are based on the average quarterly weighted average number of Class A and Class B shares of common stock outstanding. Diluted earnings per common share are adjusted for the assumed exercise of dilutive stock options and for restricted stock which are both computed using the treasury stock method.
Stock Based Compensation	Stock Based Compensation: Share-based compensation includes the restricted stock awards expected to vest based on the grant date fair value. Compensation expense is amortized straight-line over the vesting period and is included in salaries and benefits. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which simplifies several aspects of the accounting for employee share-based payment transactions including the accounting for income taxes, forfeitures, and statutory tax withholding requirements, as well as classification of related amounts within the statement of cash flows. The new standard became effective beginning with the first quarter of 2017. We adopted ASU 2016-09 in the first quarter of 2017 and the adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. We have applied the reclassification of excess tax benefits prospectively and therefore the prior period has not been adjusted. We presented in both 2016 and 2015 excess tax benefits resulting from the exercise of share-based compensation as financing cash in-flows and as operating cash out-flows in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.
New Pronouncements	New Pronouncements: In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which will provide companies with a single revenue recognition model for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers. The core principle of the new standard is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The two permitted transition methods under the new standard are the full retrospective method, in which case the standard would be applied to each prior reporting period presented and the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the earliest period shown, or the modified retrospective method, in which case the cumulative effect of applying the standard would be recognized at the date of initial application. The new standard is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017. We have been closely monitoring FASB activity related to the new standard. In the first half of 2017, we made significant progress toward completing our evaluation of the potential changes from adopting the new standard on our future financial reporting and disclosures. In the second half of 2017, we finalized our contract reviews and our detailed accounting policy. Based on our evaluation, we adopted the requirements of the new standard on January 1, 2018 and will use the full retrospective transition method. The impact of adopting Topic 606 primarily relates to recording all taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both, imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-producing transaction and collected by Hub Group from a customer on a net basis, which previously were recorded on a gross basis. We expect this election to have approximately a $3.0 million impact on our consolidated financial statements in 2017 and 2016. The impact to our results is restricted to taxes because the analysis of our contracts under the new revenue recognition standard supports the recognition of revenue over time for our contracts, which is consistent with our current revenue recognition model. Revenue on the majority of our contracts will continue to be recognized over time because of the continuous transfer of control to the customer. This continuous transfer of control to the customer is supported by clauses in the contracts that allow the customer to terminate the contract for convenience or by our rights to payment for work performed to date. In addition, the number of our performance obligations under the new standard is not materially different from our contract segments under the existing standard. Lastly, the accounting for the estimate of variable consideration is not materially different compared to our current practice. The new standard clarifies how to account for principal (gross) versus agent (net) in revenue recognition. We have concluded that the adoption of this standard will not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In 2016, the FASB issued new guidance which clarifies the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows, including debt prepayment or extinguishment costs, settlement of contingent consideration arising from a business combination, insurance settlement proceeds, and distributions from certain equity method investees. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017. This standard was adopted on January 1, 2018. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805) Clarifying the Definition of a Business. This ASU clarifies the definition of a business when evaluating whether transactions should be accounted for as acquisitions (or disposals) of assets or businesses. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2017. This standard was adopted on January 1, 2018 and we are evaluating the effect that this guidance will have on any future acquisitions. In 2016, the FASB issued new guidance that requires credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost basis to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected, not based on incurred losses. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018 is permitted. We are evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting guidance on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases, which requires lessees to recognize a right-to-use asset and a lease obligation for all leases. Lessees are permitted to make an accounting policy election to not recognize an asset and liability for leases with a term of twelve months or less. The new standard will become effective beginning with the first quarter of 2019. Early adoption of the standard is permitted. We plan to adopt this standard January 1, 2019, as required. We are currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this accounting guidance will have on the consolidated financial statements.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expense during the reporting period. Significant estimates include the allowance for doubtful accounts, exposure under our insurance policies and useful lives of assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.