C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. is a leading global logistics company that connects customers, carriers, and suppliers to enhance and grow supply chains. The company operates through two primary segments: North American Surface Transportation (NAST) and Global Forwarding, with additional activities categorized under All Other and Corporate . In addition to transportation and logistics services, C.H. Robinson offers sourcing services under the Robinson Fresh brand, which involves the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items . The company also provides value-added logistics services, such as customs brokerage, managed services, warehousing, and supply chain consulting .
- North American Surface Transportation (NAST) - Provides freight transportation services across North America, focusing on truckload and less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation services.
- Global Forwarding - Offers international logistics services, including ocean and air freight services and customs brokerage, through a global network.
- Robinson Fresh - Involves the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items.
- Value-Added Logistics Services - Includes customs brokerage, managed services, warehousing, and supply chain consulting.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
David P. Bozeman ExecutiveBoard | President and Chief Executive Officer | Trustee at The Brookings Institution; Director at The Conservation Fund | Over 30 years of experience in supply chains, transportation, and manufacturing. Former VP at Ford and SVP at Amazon Transportation Services. | View Report → |
Angela K. Freeman Executive | Chief Human Resources and ESG Officer | Board Member at The Shyft Group, Inc.; Board Member at University of North Dakota Alumni Association & Foundation | Joined CHRW in 1998. Former VP of Investor Relations and Public Affairs. Leads HR and ESG initiatives. | |
Arun Rajan Executive | Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer | None | Joined CHRW in 2021. Former COO at Whole Foods Market and Zappos. Extensive experience in product, technology, and innovation leadership. | |
Damon Lee Executive | Chief Financial Officer | None | Joined CHRW in 2024. Former CFO of GE Commercial Engines and Services and Aptiv Corporation. Extensive experience in finance and operations. | |
Michael Castagnetto Executive | President, North American Surface Transportation (NAST) | Board Member at Angel Foundation | Joined CHRW in 2005. Former President of Robinson Fresh. Recognized for building strong relationships and driving operational excellence. | |
Michael J. Short Executive | President, Global Freight Forwarding | None | Joined CHRW in 2012 through the acquisition of Phoenix International. Over 21 years of experience in global forwarding. | |
Michael P. Zechmeister Executive | Chief Financial Officer (Retiring) | Director at Hormel Foods Corporation | Joined CHRW as CFO in 2019. Contributed to record financial performance and shareholder returns. Plans to retire by May 31, 2024. | |
Henry J. Maier Board | Director | Independent Chair at CalAmp Corp.; Director at CarParts.com, Inc.; Director at Canadian Pacific Kansas City Limited | Joined CHRW as a director in 2022. Former CEO of FedEx Ground. Extensive experience in logistics and transportation. | |
Henry W. "Jay" Winship Board | Director | Director at Bunge Limited; Founder and President of Pacific Point Companies; Advisor at Corporate Governance Institute, SDSU | Joined CHRW as a director in 2022. Expertise in capital allocation, corporate governance, and investment management. | |
Jodee A. Kozlak Board | Chair of the Board | CEO of Kozlak Capital Partners; Director at K.B. Home; Director at MGIC Investment Corp. | Joined CHRW as a director in 2013. Former EVP at Target Corporation. Expertise in human capital strategy and digital transformation. | |
Kermit R. Crawford Board | Director | Director at Allstate Corporation; Director at Visa Inc.; Board Member at Northwestern Medicine North/Northwest Region; Trustee at The Field Museum | Joined CHRW as a director in 2020. Former President and COO of Rite Aid. Extensive experience in corporate governance and consumer-focused services. | |
Mark A. Goodburn Board | Director | Advisor to venture capital and private equity firms; Member of the Presidents National Advisory Council at Minnesota State University; Member of the Executive Board at Cox School of Business, SMU | Joined CHRW as a director in 2022. Former senior leader at KPMG. Expertise in finance, strategy, and global management. | |
Mary J. Steele Guilfoile Board | Director | Chair at MG Advisors, Inc.; Director at The Interpublic Group of Companies; Director at Pitney Bowes Inc.; Director at Avolta AG | Joined CHRW as a director in 2012. Extensive expertise in mergers and acquisitions, business integration, and financing. | |
Michael H. McGarry Board | Director | Director at U.S. Steel Corporation; Director at Shin Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. | Joined CHRW as a director in 2024. Former CEO of PPG Industries. Expertise in corporate leadership and business transformation. | |
Paige K. Robbins Board | Director | None | Joined CHRW as a director in 2024. Former senior leader at W.W. Grainger. Expertise in sales, marketing, and global supply chain. | |
Timothy C. Gokey Board | Director | CEO and Director at Broadridge Financial Solutions; Director at Partnership for New York City | Joined CHRW as a director in 2017. Expertise in leadership, business execution, and public company operations. |
- Given that you're implementing a new operating model and expecting significant productivity improvements of 32% over 2023 and 2024 combined , how confident are you that these improvements are sustainable and won't negatively impact service quality or employee morale, especially as you decouple headcount growth from volume growth?
- You've mentioned that the freight market is in an elongated recession with no immediate signs of inflection , yet you're focusing on gaining market share and expanding margins ; how do you plan to achieve margin expansion in such a challenging environment without compromising on competitive pricing or sacrificing volumes?
- With the sale of your European Surface Transportation business to focus on your four core modes , can you elaborate on how this divestiture will impact your global operations and whether you foresee any risks in narrowing your geographic presence?
- Your goal is to deliver higher highs and higher lows over the course of freight market cycles, targeting 40% operating margins for NAST and 30% for Global Forwarding ; given the current tough market conditions, what specific actions are you taking to reach these targets, and how realistic are these margins in the near term?
- Given the leadership changes, including the transition of Arun Rajan to Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer and the appointment of a new CFO , how are you ensuring that these changes won't disrupt your ongoing transformation efforts, and what measures are in place to maintain continuity and effective execution of your strategy?
Research analysts who have asked questions during C. H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE earnings calls.
Brian Ossenbeck
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
3 questions for CHRW
Christian Wetherbee
Wells Fargo
3 questions for CHRW
Jeffrey Kauffman
Vertical Research Partners
3 questions for CHRW
Jonathan Chappell
Evercore ISI
3 questions for CHRW
Ken Hoexter
BofA Securities
3 questions for CHRW
Thomas Wadewitz
UBS
3 questions for CHRW
Ariel Rosa
Citigroup
2 questions for CHRW
Bascome Majors
Susquehanna Financial Group
2 questions for CHRW
David Hicks
Raymond James
2 questions for CHRW
Scott Group
Wolfe Research
2 questions for CHRW
Alex Johnson
Evercore ISI
1 question for CHRW
Ben Mohr
Citigroup Inc.
1 question for CHRW
Chris Wetherbee
Wells Fargo
1 question for CHRW
Daniel Imbro
Stephens Inc.
1 question for CHRW
Jason Seidl
TD Cowen
1 question for CHRW
J. Bruce Chan
Stifel
1 question for CHRW
Richa Harnain
Deutsche Bank
1 question for CHRW
Stephanie Moore
Jefferies
1 question for CHRW
Tom Wadewitz
UBS Group
1 question for CHRW
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for CHRW.
- C.H. Robinson employs a lean operating model alongside agentic and generative AI to automate over 3 million shipping tasks, delivering a 35% productivity improvement over the past two years.
- The company reduced headcount by double digits over three years while growing freight volumes during a nearly four-year freight recession, driving shares up 25% since July earnings.
- AI tools offer granular visibility across 83,000 customers and 35 million shipments annually, enabling clients to optimize origins/destinations and leverage free trade zones to mitigate tariff uncertainties.
- Despite rail consolidation among Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, BNSF, and CSX, C.H. Robinson maintains significant relationships with all major railroads and expects no material impact on its core truck brokerage business.
- CH Robinson has outperformed the market through a lean operating model and industry-leading technology, delivering 35% productivity gains since 2022.
- Management highlights three years of freight recession with uncertain demand across retail, housing and manufacturing, while supply-side signals—improved load-to-truck ratios and broker/carrier attrition—suggest progress toward capacity–demand equilibrium.
- The firm has implemented 30 AI agents automating critical logistics tasks, including cutting LTL classification from ten minutes to ten seconds and achieving 100% quote coverage with 32-second responses, driving revenue growth and margin expansion.
- Operating margins are approaching mid-cycle targets (NASS within 200bps of a 40% goal), and CH Robinson maintains flexibility between margin and volume trade-offs to optimize enterprise results.
- Income from operations rose 21% YoY, driven by AGP growth of $5.8 m (NAST +3%, Global Forwarding +1.9%) and a 6.3% reduction in operating expenses.
- NAST achieved a 38% operating margin (up both YoY and sequentially), with volumes +1% vs. CAS index –3.4% (truckload flat, LTL +1.5%) and gross margin +80 bps YoY.
- Ended Q2 with $1.22 bn liquidity, net debt/EBITDA of 1.4×, and returned $161 m to shareholders via $85.8 m in buybacks and $74.9 m in dividends.
- Ongoing transformation delivers >35% productivity gains since 2022, leveraging a lean operating model and AI-driven automation to expand market share and improve margins.
- CH Robinson executives discussed ongoing challenges amid a long-term freight recession in truckload, LTL, and global forwarding segments, emphasizing a "wait and see" approach in the current market environment.
- The leadership highlighted the deployment of advanced technology and real-time pricing strategies to drive margin expansion and operational efficiency, enabling faster price discovery and improved matching of loads to carriers.
- They also outlined a systematic approach to productivity improvements, including targeted headcount adjustments in automation while investing in customer-facing roles, with enterprise initiatives aimed at 2026 targets.
- The executives outlined a challenging market environment marked by tariff disruptions and potential “air pockets” in inventory flow, emphasizing the need for improved supply chain visibility during ongoing freight disruptions.
- They detailed a robust strategy leveraging technology and automation, including AI-driven pricing and cost optimization, to achieve significant productivity gains and operational leverage.
- The call reaffirmed their commitment to outperforming the market by expanding gross margins and capturing increased market share, with guidance for incremental operating income improvements over 2025-2026.
- CH Robinson delivered a 39% YoY increase in Q1 income from operations, supported by market share gains in its truckload and LTL segments amid a challenging freight environment.
- The company accelerated its digital transformation by integrating Gen AI agents, which processed over 3 million shipping tasks to enhance pricing, order processing, and overall productivity.
- Cost optimization efforts led to lower personnel and SG&A expenses, while disciplined capital allocation returned $175 million in cash to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
- Freight market remains challenging, with temporary seasonality driving spot rate increases that are still below carriers’ operating costs, reflecting a prolonged freight recession.
- Capacity is gradually burning down as excess capacity is exiting the market, supporting the company's asset-light and hybrid asset strategy (e.g., drop trailer business contributing 15%-20% of NAST volume).
- Operational excellence is highlighted, as demonstrated by Global Forwarding’s revenue growth, headcount reduction, and productivity improvements that the company aims to mirror in its NAST business when the market recovers.
- Mid-cycle operating margin targets have been reiterated, with a forecast of 40% for NAST, 30% for Global Forwarding, and an expected incremental operating income of $350-450 million by 2026, assuming a return to normalized market conditions.