EDEN Prairie, Minn. — C.H. Robinson Worldwide released its 2024 first quarter financial results on May 1, and the company saw losses over the same period last year but has a plan for a bright future.
“Our first quarter results and adjusted earnings per share of $0.86 reflects a change in our execution and discipline, as we began implementing a new Lean-based operating model. And although we continue to battle through an elongated freight recession with an oversupply of capacity, I’m optimistic about our ability to continue improving our execution regardless of the market environment,” said C.H. Robinson’s President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Bozeman.
Comparing year-over-year financials with 2023, C.H. Robinson saw revenues shrink 4.3% to $4.4 billion.
This decrease was primarily driven by lower freight rates in the truckload sector. The same factor resulted in profits decreasing 4.5% to $647.5 million. Operating expenses increased overall with the exception of personnel, which saw a 1 percent decrease as average headcount declined over 11%. Total income was down 21%, while net income followed, down 19.1% to $92.9 million.
Bozeman said he hopes to see these statistics turnaround as the new operating model ramps up.
“Our new operating model is being deployed at the enterprise, divisional and shared service levels and is evolving our execution and accountability by bringing more structure to our continuous improvement cadence and culture,” Bozeman said. The model represents a new way of operating and includes greater discipline, transparency, urgency, and decision making to lead to better outputs.
Bozeman noted that the North American Surface Transportation (NAST) results showed similar declines to those previously listed. Total revenues were down 9.2% over the same period last year, as were adjusted gross profits (-6.9%) and income from operations (-18.7%).
“As a result of disciplined pricing and capacity procurement efforts, we executed better across our contractual and transactional portfolios in our NAST business, and in particular, in our truckload business in the first quarter,” Bozeman added. “This resulted in improved optimization of volume and adjusted gross profit per truckload, which improved sequentially despite an increase in our linehaul cost per mile for the full quarter versus the fourth quarter of 2023. Additionally, our first quarter truckload volume reflects growing market share, and we outpaced the market indices for the third quarter in a row.”
Bozeman said that Robinson’s freight experts are responding to the challenge and embracing the new operating model and innovative tools that the company continues to arm them with.
“Our people have a powerful desire to win, and I thank them for their tireless efforts,” Bozeman said.
On the other hand, he didn’t shy away from addressing challenges that lie ahead.
“Everyone understands that we have a lot more work to do,” he said.
Since retiring from a career as an outdoor recreation professional from the State of Arkansas, Kris Rutherford has worked as a freelance writer and, with his wife, owns and publishes a small Northeast Texas newspaper, The Roxton Progress. Kris has worked as a ghostwriter and editor and has authored seven books of his own. He became interested in the trucking industry as a child in the 1970s when his family traveled the interstates twice a year between their home in Maine and their native Texas. He has been a classic country music enthusiast since the age of nine when he developed a special interest in trucking songs.
