C.H. Robinson reports 20 per cent increase in adjusted operating income

C.H. Robinson says its adjusted operating income increased 20 per cent year over year in the second quarter of 2026, as the logistics company continued to report gains from its three-year transformation focused on Lean principles and artificial intelligence.

The company said it achieved its mid-cycle operating margin targets in both North American Surface Transportation (NAST) and Global Forwarding. NAST’s operating margin, excluding restructuring costs, rose 280 basis points year over year to 40.9 per cent, while Global Forwarding’s increased 470 basis points to 33.4 per cent.

C.H. Robinson said its NAST volume outgrew the Cass Freight Shipment Index for the 13th consecutive quarter and its LTL business recorded year-over-year volume growth for the 10th consecutive quarter.

“When I became CEO three years ago, we committed to delivering higher highs and higher lows across freight market cycles. Our second quarter results are yet another example of delivering on that commitment,” said C.H. Robinson president and CEO Dave Bozeman. “Despite being in the trough of the freight market demand cycle, with the Cass Freight Shipment Index declining on a year-over-year basis for the 15th consecutive quarter, we hit our mid-cycle operating margin targets in both North American Surface Transportation and Global Forwarding in Q2.”

The company said productivity has improved by more than 60 per cent in both NAST and Global Forwarding since the end of 2022, while it returned US$301 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

“Our Q2 results demonstrate again how disciplined execution and our Lean AI strategy are driving secular earnings growth and meaningful progress against our strategic priorities, including market share gains, gross profit optimization and improved operating leverage,” said chief financial officer Damon Lee.

C.H. Robinson said it is embedding AI into workflows across its operations to improve decision-making, customer service and employee productivity.

“This is not about automating tasks or taking people out of the process. It is about fundamentally improving how work gets done, raising the level of service we provide to our customers, and improving the quality of work and experience for our employees, all while enabling the business to scale more efficiently and drive sustainable operating performance in any market environment,” said Arun Rajan, chief strategy and innovation officer.

The company said its NAST business-maintained truckload adjusted gross profit per shipment despite significant spot-rate inflation and increased contractual volume.

“We were able to offset the pressure on our contractual margins and deliver a truckload AGP per shipment that was flat year-over-year. This is quite remarkable given the dramatic increase in spot rates and the increase in our contractual volume,” said Michael Castagnetto, president of North American Surface Transportation.

C.H. Robinson said it remains in the early stages of its Lean AI transformation and expects further opportunities to improve productivity and customer outcomes.

“In my first three years leading this company, I’m proud of the progress we’ve made to transform C.H. Robinson into the global leader in Lean AI supply chains, and I want to thank our people for embracing the culture shift that has fundamentally changed this company,” said Bozeman. “With our Lean operating model, our commitment to continuous improvement and our AI innovations at the core of our transformation, I continue to be even more excited about what we believe we can deliver in the coming years.”