C.H. Robinson has expanded its use of artificial intelligence into ocean shipping, air freight and customs brokerage, with new AI agents cutting some international freight quoting times from days to minutes.
The company said its AI has generated and delivered more than 80,000 ocean and air cargo price quotes for more than 3,600 customers. Air freight quotes that previously took about a day and ocean quotes that took two to three days can now be completed in two to three minutes.
The technology is also being used to manage ocean booking requests and automate portions of the documentation process required to clear shipments through U.S. Customs.
“As we’ve brought our AI playbook to global forwarding, the benefits keep compounding,” said Mike Short, president of global forwarding. “Customers have information they need sooner. Data is more consistent. Processes are more predictable. When plans change or disruptions occur, customers can more quickly evaluate a new routing, mode of shipping, schedule or price. Not to mention speed-to-market is a real competitive advantage. The faster we get you a quote and handle your booking, the faster you get the ideal carrier and the ideal sailing or flight. For a vessel on the water 15 to 35 days, you don’t want to wait weeks for the next one. For an air shipment, life-saving medicines, perishable produce and critical automotive parts absolutely must arrive on time. Our Lean AI makes your supply chain a smarter, faster, better one.”
C.H. Robinson said pricing international freight can require more than a dozen AI agents working together to determine customer requirements, gather external information and assess factors including ports, terminal fees, routing and transportation modes.
The company first introduced the freight-forwarding price-quoting technology in 2025 for less-than-container-load ocean freight customers in the U.S. and Canada. It has since expanded to full-container ocean freight and air cargo, with customers in Mexico, Europe, Latin America and Oceania also using the technology.
C.H. Robinson is piloting the system for customers in China and expects to introduce it in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Africa in the fourth quarter.
AI agents handling ocean booking requests launched in China in August and are scheduled to expand to the rest of Asia in the fourth quarter before a global rollout in the first quarter of 2027.
The company is also using AI and automation to assist its customs brokerage operations. The technology handles portions of more than four dozen types of documents needed to clear U.S. Customs, including classifying documents, extracting data and identifying missing information.
C.H. Robinson said the technology has reduced time spent on those processes by 23 per cent, allowing customs brokers to focus on validation and compliance.
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