Latest news with #C.H.Robinson
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
C.H. Robinson will use AI agents to classify LTL freight
Global logistics provider C.H. Robinson has announced the launch of a pioneering AI agent designed to adapt to the upcoming changes in the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system for less-than-truckload (LTL) freight. As the largest mover of LTL freight among third-party logistics (3PL) providers in North America, C.H. Robinson is positioning its proprietary technology to revolutionize how shippers classify their freight, marking a major leap in efficiency and accuracy in the logistics industry. Classifying LTL freight has long posed challenges for shippers due to the complex, manual processes involved. Traditionally, each shipment's classification required a detailed analysis of four factors: density, handling, liability, and stowability. Density involves calculating the pounds per cubic foot, with higher density often resulting in a lower freight class and thus a lower shipping cost. Handling considerations look at the ease with which a product can be moved between terminals, with more fragile items potentially requiring higher freight classes. Liability encompasses the potential for damage or perishability of the item and its ability to damage adjacent shipments. Lastly, stowability evaluates whether freight can be stacked or turned to maximize space utilization without requiring special handling conditions. C.H. Robinson's new AI tool is set to simplify these evaluations. By automating the classification process, the AI agent minimizes human error and expedites order processing. 'We have a fleet of over 30 AI agents performing tasks that had defied automation for decades,' said Arun Rajan, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer at C.H. Robinson. 'Now we're building AI agents that help our AI agents.' This innovation is particularly significant given the upcoming changes to NMFC classifications, which can increase uncertainty and errors if not addressed with precision. The AI agent's ability to automate and streamline freight classification will have profound implications for the company's West, Vice President for LTL, noted the impact on efficiency: 'Before generative AI, half of our LTL orders were automated by way of customers using our global shipper platform or direct connectivity between our tech and their tech. We have the freight classifications for those shippers baked into our system.' With the new AI agent in place, C.H. Robinson has enhanced its automation capabilities, resulting in over 75% of LTL orders being automated—particularly benefiting small-to-medium businesses heavily reliant on email-based freight tenders. The AI agent's speed and capacity for multitasking vastly outperform human abilities in processing freight classifications. In its early months of operation, it has managed to determine the freight class and code for about 2,000 orders per day—a task that would conventionally require substantial human resources and time. 'Manually looking up or confirming the freight class and code for every emailed LTL tender can easily take a person 10 minutes or more per shipment,' Rajan pointed out. 'Our AI agent can do the same in about 10 seconds for first-time reasoning tasks, and just three seconds post-training, handling numerous shipments simultaneously.' This technological advancement not only accelerates the classification process but also reduces operational costs and turnaround times, effectively getting customers' freight on the road faster. C.H. Robinson expects this will result in enhanced customer satisfaction and more strategic supply chain operations without the risk of delays associated with misclassified the overhaul of the NMFC system looms, C.H. Robinson advises shippers to ensure their readiness by accurately gauging their freight dimensions and weight, both crucial for correct NMFC classification. The logistics leader also announced collaborations with dimensioner technology vendors to offer discounts, aiding customers in achieving precise measurements for their shipments. 'C.H. Robinson's track record of LTL innovation sets the standard for our industry,' commented Michael Castagnetto, President of North American Surface Transportation. C.H. Robinson's new LTL freight classification tool is a step into the future of freight logistics, providing a transformative solution to a longstanding industry challenge. As the new NMFC standards take effect, this AI agent is poised to play a crucial role in supporting shippers through the transition. The post C.H. Robinson will use AI agents to classify LTL freight appeared first on FreightWaves.
Business Wire
a day ago
- Business
- Business Wire
C.H. Robinson Launches an AI Agent to Help Shippers Adapt to the New National System for Classifying LTL Freight
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With the national classifications for less-than-truckload freight changing in July, global logistics provider C.H. Robinson has created a new AI agent that automates the process of determining how freight should be classified. C.H. Robinson moves more LTL freight than any other 3PL in North America, and this proprietary tech will help shippers smoothly transition to the new national system. It also represents a new frontier for the company's innovation with generative artificial intelligence. 'We have a fleet of over 30 AI agents performing tasks that had defied automation for decades,' said Arun Rajan, Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer. 'Now we're building AI agents that help our AI agents.' Because LTL shipping involves freight sharing a truck, the National Motor Freight Classification (NMFC) system provides thousands of classes and codes that help LTL carriers know how much space and weight to plan for each individual shipment – depending on whether it's bulky auto parts or a pallet of retail goods like socks. LTL carriers charge based on the NMFC classifications, and those will change starting July 19. 'Many LTL shippers are unaware or uncertain of the classification for their freight,' said Greg West, Vice President for LTL. 'So when they email us a tender, the freight class and code might be missing or incorrect. This is bound to increase with the massive overhaul of the national LTL freight classification system. So we built an AI agent that determines the correct class and code for a shipment and assists another of our AI agents in turning that tender into an accurate order in our system.' The new AI agent helps shippers avoid the delays that can come with misclassified freight being held by the carrier for inspection, reinvoicing and potentially higher charges. It has already helped significantly increase LTL automation at C.H. Robinson, resulting in enhanced service and greater speed-to-market for LTL customers. 'Before generative AI, half of our LTL orders were automated by way of customers using our global shipper platform or direct connectivity between our tech and their tech. We have the freight classifications for those shippers baked into our system,' West said. 'Where this new AI agent is particularly useful is assisting with orders for our small-to-medium business customers, who are heavy users of both LTL shipping and email. Now that this agent is helping with shipping requests that come in by email, over 75% of all our LTL orders are automated.' In the AI agent's first few months, it has been determining the freight class and code for about 2,000 orders a day. 'Manually looking up or confirming the freight class and code for every emailed LTL tender can easily take a person 10 minutes or more per shipment,' Rajan said. 'For shipments the AI agent is reasoning through for the first time, it can choose a freight classification in about 10 seconds. After getting more training on that type of freight from our LTL experts, it takes only three seconds. Unlike a person, the AI agent can also handle hundreds of LTL shipments at once and determine the freight classification for all of them simultaneously. So far, that's saving over 300 hours a day. Our customers' freight gets on the road faster, and our people can devote more time to helping customers manage disruptions and operate their supply chains more strategically.' The day the new freight classification system goes into effect, the AI agent will be able to apply the new classes and codes. Customers who tender LTL freight by email or any other method are advised to prepare by making sure they know the accurate weight and dimensions for their freight. Both are essential for applying the correct NMFC classification. Dimensioner technology can help, and C.H. Robinson has collaborated with dimensioner vendors to provide discounts for its customers. 'C.H. Robinson's track record of LTL innovation sets the standard for our industry,' said Michael Castagnetto, President of North American Surface Transportation. 'We were first to adopt the new electronic bill of lading. We're using AI-powered tech to help customers predict and save on their accessorial charges. Now with generative AI, the agents we've built are giving our customers an advantage by responding to LTL quote requests and processing LTL orders in numbers that are growing every day.' ABOUT C.H. ROBINSON C.H. Robinson delivers logistics like no one else™. Companies around the world look to us to reimagine supply chains, advance freight technology and solve logistics challenges—from the simple to the most complex. 83,000 customers and 450,000 contract carriers in our network trust us to manage 37 million shipments and $23 billion in freight annually. Through our unmatched expertise, unrivaled scale and tailored solutions, we ensure the seamless delivery of goods across industries and continents via truckload, less-than-truckload, ocean, air and beyond. As a responsible global citizen, we make supply chains more sustainable and proudly contribute millions to the causes that matter most to our employees. For more information, go to (Nasdaq: CHRW)
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Onstage in Chicago, CHRW talks tech and staffing; RXO sees language order hitting capacity
With two leading 3PLs taking the stage at the Wells Fargo Industrials and Materials Conference in Chicago Wednesday, in the middle of a freight market that still has not made their lives any easier, presenters from C.H. Robinson and RXO made their case in different ways. They did so from very different positions in the equity markets: C.H. Robinson's stock by Wednesday had risen about 11.6% in the last year. RXO's stock declined about 21.7% during that same period. There was one major overlap in what the two publicly-traded 3PLs said about the market: neither are banking on any significant upturn anytime soon. C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) CEO Dave Bozeman said the freight market is still in what is now a 38 to 39-month recession, 'and we have to deal with it and that's what we're doing every day.'Drew Wilkerson, the CEO of RXO (NYSE: RXO), citing several measures such as tender rejections, said 'we feel like we're coming off the bottom.' But it was other areas that stood out in the presentations for the two companies. (Both companies' presentations were webcast.) Given that it has been technology and productivity that C.H. Robinson has touted as the key driver to its success, which began showing up in its corporate earnings after the first quarter of 2024, it wasn't surprising that Bozeman and CFO Damon Lee turned to that topic in their discussion. The RXO discussion with Wilkerson and head of strategy Jared Weisfeld was more focused on the freight market. But one reason for their guarded optimism was a potential strengthening through a potential boost from enforcing the Department of Transportation's English language C.H. Robinson, some of the gains at the company have come alongside reductions in staff. Although the precise numbers are not known, they showed up in the most recent quarterly earnings report under the category of personnel expenses. In the first quarter of 2024, that spending was $379.1 million. In the first quarter of this year, it had been reduced to $348.6 million. Lee said the question about the company's head count is one that they get 'a lot.' 'But we don't really look at it that way,' he said. 'We look at it as productivity.' The key metric the company uses to measure that productivity is shipments per day per person. In the company's most recent quarterly earnings call, Michael Castagnetto, president of C.H. Robinson's North American Surface Transportation unit that is the home of its truck brokerage activities, said the segment's shipments per person per day has been growing at a double-digit pace in the past two years. He said that pace continued in the first quarter. 'If I've set a target for operating leverage and volume goes up, I may actually add a head or two,' Lee said. But given the environment in the freight market, Lee said that reducing head count at present is 'what the productivity drives us to do.' Continuing reductions in headcount are not guaranteed, according to Lee. 'Assuming volumes return to the system at some point, that productivity will show up either as head count reduction, like we've seen in this freight recession, or it will show up as increased operating leverage when volume returns.' 'Our head count reductions have not been blind,' Lee said. 'They've been very systematic. It hasn't been 'will I just reduce workforce by 10%.'' The 'vast majority' of head count has come on the customer-facing side, Lee said, 'where we're moving up the value stack with the customers.'He added that questions from investors and analysts often come down to 'how do we know you're not just going to flood people back when the volume returns?' 'Our answer is there's no reason to flood people back,' Lee said. 'The processes have fundamentally changed. The process that required a human touch before no longer requires the human touch.' Both Lee and Bozeman said the company believes the model it has created during difficult times, based on Lean principles, will 'translate' in a stronger market as well. Bozeman has talked frequently about a push by C.H. Robinson to get deeper into small and medium businesses. Lee said the productivity gains elsewhere in the company has allowed it 'to invest in that space, in bringing people in from a customer facing perspective.' Wednesday began with a report published by Jason Seidl of TDCowen, who had met with RXO officials in Canada. Seidl said those officials–who were not identified in the report–had made the point that the enforcement of the Department of Transportation English language requirement that will begin next week could have a significant impact on trucking capacity. Wilkerson raised that subject in his discussion at the Wells Fargo conference. 'I think it will have a big impact if it goes into effect,' Wilkerson said. But where the impact falls is not likely to be evenly distributed, he added. There will be a clear political divide on where the law could affect capacity. 'Watch the red states first, because this is something that would happen at a state level,' Wilkerson said. 'So does something happen in Texas? Does something happen in Florida? Does something happen in Tennessee, which are all highly-trafficked areas?' RXO, according to Wilkerson, believes the size of the driver capacity that would not pass the English language requirement 'could be anywhere to low double digits.' In his report, Seidl said he believed the industry is estimating that number to be between 5% and 15%. Wilkerson, in his remarks, said the continuing sluggishness of freight markets is now more of a demand issue than one of supply, because the departure of so many carriers and owner operators has tightened capacity. 'So whenever you talk about demand returning, there is not as much capacity,' he said. Given that, he said, a significant loss of more capacity because of enforcement of the English language requirement would result in a 'sharper turn in the recovery.' Westerfield said he sees 'pretty significant coordination' among government agencies like FMCSA to implement the executive order. He added that if a driver can not show proficiency in tasks like reading signs, the penalty is not a fine; it is having that driver and truck taken out of service. 'But it comes down to enforcement, which will be down at a state by state level,' Westerfield said. 'So that really speaks to regional dynamics.' Seidl's brief comment in his report was that he believed the executive order will be 'difficult to enforce.' More articles by John Kingston C.H. Robinson – and 3PL industry – win another broker liability case in 7th Circuit Leadership at C.H. Robinson celebrates 1-year milestone by posting another strong quarter RXO finds positives in quarter marked by soft market and profit loss The post Onstage in Chicago, CHRW talks tech and staffing; RXO sees language order hitting capacity appeared first on FreightWaves. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firms launch tools to help shippers measure tariff costs
As shifting tariffs continue to impact global supply chains, Flexport and C.H. Robinson have introduced tools aimed at helping businesses navigate duties impacting international shipments. Flexport, a San Francisco-based global logistics technology company, recently launched the Flexport Tariff Simulator, a tool designed to help businesses estimate landed costs and navigate tariffs in real time. Third party logistics provider C.H. Robinson (Nasdaq: CHRW) has added the U.S. Tariff Impact Analysis tool to its global shipper platform to help businesses assess their overall duty exposure, while providing precise cost analysis of each shipment. Mike Short, president of global forwarding at C.H. Robinson said the tool assesses trade complexities more effectively. 'With this tool a national retailer could identify high-volume stock keeping units coming from one point of origin, then quickly compare total duty spend along various alternative sources — then reroute future supply where needed,' Short said in a news release. Ryan Petersen, Flexport founder and CEO, said their customers have been asking for more clarity on the impact of import tariffs on shipments. 'Our engineering team built the Flexport tariff simulator in response to meet that need in the face of all the uncertainty caused by rapid policy changes,' Petersen said in a news release. 'We want to help merchants avoid expensive surprises.' Flexport's tariff simulator includes an interactive map that allows users to see trade data around the world, including the total value of imports from a given country, the current average duty rate, and the percentage of total U.S. imports coming from that country. The tool is available to the general public at Along with the tariff simulator, Flexport is also launching a searchable catalog of harmonized tariff schedule codes to navigate classification requirements, special duty rates and customs clearance processes. Flexport and C.H. Robinson are not the only firms launching tools to help shippers, logistics professionals and consumers assess the impact of import tariffs. In March, UPS (NYSE: UPS) created an automatic tariff calculator for online shoppers — UPS Global Checkout. The parcel carrier's landed cost calculator allows e-commerce merchants to integrate it into their online stores so customers see the import duties, taxes and fees upfront at checkout. E-commerce platform provider Shopify (Nasdaq: SHOP) launched a tariff calculator in May that helps determine duties and taxes on international shipments. Agtools, a provider of software solutions for the food industry, debuted a tool in February that enables users to calculate import levies across all commodities in real time and create scenarios that will impact supply, merchandising and pricing. The post Firms launch tools to help shippers measure tariff costs appeared first on FreightWaves. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
C.H. Robinson to Participate in 2025 Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., June 03, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ: CHRW) announced that the company will participate in a fireside chat at the 2025 Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. Central Time. A live webcast of the fireside chat discussion will be available at A replay of the webcast will be available within 24 hours following the live event. About C.H. Robinson C.H. Robinson delivers logistics like no one else™. Companies around the world look to us to reimagine supply chains, advance freight technology, and solve logistics challenges—from the simple to the most complex. 83,000 customers and 450,000 contract carriers in our network trust us to manage 37 million shipments and $23 billion in freight annually. Through our unmatched expertise, unrivaled scale, and tailored solutions, we ensure the seamless delivery of goods across industries and continents via truckload, less-than-truckload, ocean, air, and beyond. As a responsible global citizen, we make supply chains more sustainable and proudly contribute millions to the causes that matter most to our employees. For more information, visit us at (Nasdaq: CHRW). CHRW-IR View source version on Contacts Chuck Ives, Senior Director of Investor RelationsEmail: Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
