Dive Brief:
- C.H. Robinson Worldwide’s North America Surface Transportation (NAST) division gained market share in truckload and less-than-truckload services despite elevated capacity, according to the company’s Q2 earnings presentation.
- Total volumes from NAST grew 1% year over year, reflecting nine quarters in a row of market share growth. While truckload volumes were flat compared to the same time last year, LTL volume increased 1.5% YoY.
- Executives credited artificial intelligence in part for market share gains. “The faster speed provided by our AI has enabled us to respond to more quotes and win more business, thereby augmenting our market share growth,” Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer Arun Rajan told investors on a July 30 earnings call.
Dive Insight:
C.H. Robinson’s proprietary AI is powering its pricing and costing operations. The technology enables the company to respond more surgically and faster to dynamic market conditions with more frequent price discovery, Rajan added.
Back in April, the 3PL announced that its AI capabilities can offer price quotes for LTL shipments, acquire trucking capacity, and set appointments for pickup and delivery. Since adding the quoting agent, the company saw a 30% jump in LTL quotes delivered by AI every month, Mark Albrecht, VP for artificial intelligence, said at the time.
Last month, the company also provided a new AI agent to help shippers automate the process of determining how freight should be classified to help with the National Motor Freight Traffic Association classification overhaul.
“In the AI agent’s first few months, it has been determining the freight class and code for about 2,000 orders a day, and it has reduced the processing time from 10 minutes or more per shipment to 10 seconds or less,” Rajan said.
C.H. Robinson is focusing on deploying the same AI playbook in its global forwarding division with a goal to achieve a 30% operating margin, Rajan said. In Q2, adjusted operating margin in the division was 27.4%, up from 22.4% in last year’s Q2.
