C.H. Robinson Reports 45 Percent Productivity Gain After Deploying In-House AI Agents and Not Replacing Some Departing Staff

C.H. Robinson Worldwide recorded a 45 percent rise in employee productivity since 2022 after deploying hundreds of AI agents across its operations, Fortune reported. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based freight broker also posted double-digit earnings-per-share growth since 2023 despite a 34 percent drop in revenues tied to the post-COVID shipping slump.

The company reduced the time to deliver customer quotes from 20 minutes to 31 seconds by automating the task with AI agents that operate around the clock. CEO Dave Bozeman, who has led the firm for three years, said the agents allow the business to handle volume without adding headcount in those functions.

Robinson maintains a natural annual employee turnover rate of 11 to 14 percent and has not replaced workers in roles now handled by AI.

Bozeman said the freed capacity lets the company shift staff to higher-value work such as advising customers on tariff changes while expanding into supply-chain consulting. The firm built nearly all of its AI agents in-house using its own models or open-source alternatives.

It employs 450 engineers with domain knowledge of the shipping industry to develop the systems at lower cost than third-party vendors, Bozeman said.

Bozeman described the goal as offering customers “supply chain in a box,” with AI-assisted human teams serving small and medium-sized shippers where Robinson has lost market share in recent years.