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CH Robinson Moves AI Across Global Forwarding

[ October 30, 2026   //   Gary Burrows ]

C.H. Robinson has extended its artificial-intelligence tools into ocean shipping, airfreight and customs brokerage, automating portions of freight quoting, booking and document processing.

The third-party logistics provider said its AI agents have produced more than 80,000 ocean and airfreight price quotes for more than 3,600 customers. Quotes that previously took one day for an air shipment and two to three days for an ocean shipment can now be returned in two to three minutes, according to the company.

The technology divides complex forwarding work among multiple agents and subagents. They interpret shipment requirements, gather information from outside parties and evaluate such variables as ports, terminals, inland routings, consolidation points and changing fees.

C.H. Robinson began using the quoting technology in 2025 for less-than-container-load ocean shipments involving U.S. and Canadian customers. It has since expanded the system to full-container-load ocean freight and air cargo in Mexico, Europe, Latin America and Oceania. Pilots are underway in China, with deployment in Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Africa expected during the fourth quarter.

A separate group of agents is handling ocean booking requests. That system launched in China in August, is scheduled to expand across the rest of Asia during the fourth quarter and is expected to become available globally during the first quarter of 2027.

Mike Neill, C.H. Robinson chief technology officer, said digital forms and direct data exchanges achieved automation of only about 5 percent of ocean and air booking requests over roughly a decade. One complication is that bookings often come from a customer’s numerous suppliers rather than directly from the customer.

The company also is applying AI and automation to more than four dozen document types used in U.S. customs clearance. The system separates and classifies incoming documents, associates them with individual shipments, extracts required data and monitors for missing material. C.H. Robinson said the technology has reduced the time spent on those processes by 23 percent, leaving customs brokers to concentrate on validation and compliance.

The operational claims were followed by third-quarter results showing higher forwarding profit alongside lower staffing. Global Forwarding operating income increased 63.3 percent from a year earlier to $80 million, while adjusted gross profit rose 15.4 percent. Ocean shipments increased 2 percent, while airfreight volume declined 4 percent by tonnes shipped. Average Global Forwarding headcount fell 15.8 percent.

C.H. Robinson attributed part of its broader productivity improvement to what it calls its Lean AI operating model, although its earnings report did not isolate how much of the gain resulted from AI rather than pricing, staffing reductions or other cost controls.

The company said its AI agents operate across 100 trillion data points and use customer-specific information. Its internal technology organization includes about 450 software engineers and data scientists working across forwarding, trucking and fourth-party logistics operations.

Tags: C.H. Robinson