C.H. Robinson pushes back on AI disruption fears after stock plunge

Investing.com -- C.H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) has issued a statement to Investing.com defending its artificial intelligence capabilities after its shares fell 14.5% on Thursday amid a broader selloff in freight transportation stocks triggered by AI disruption concerns.

The logistics company emphasized it has been "a leader in AI for more than a decade" and believes artificial intelligence will "strengthen our performance and widen our competitive moat" rather than threaten its business model.

C.H. Robinson highlighted its "Lean AI" approach, which it says has increased productivity by more than 40%, automated millions of shipping tasks, and saved thousands of work hours daily while reducing service costs.

"Scale matters in both technology and logistics," the company stated, pointing to its management of over 37 million shipments annually. The firm cited its data scale, purpose-built technology, and logistics expertise as competitive advantages in building effective AI systems.

The company also noted it has outperformed the freight market for eight consecutive quarters and maintains a strong balance sheet with an investment-grade credit rating. C.H. Robinson described itself as a "dividend aristocrat," having increased dividends for 27 consecutive years.

Barclays defended C.H. Robinson in a research note, maintaining an Overweight rating and calling the selloff "disproportionate." The bank’s analysts suggested the weakness represents "a buying opportunity" and described C.H. Robinson as "the AI disrupter within the US truck brokerage market and global air and ocean freight forwarding."

The market reaction appears to have been partially triggered by developments at Algorhythm (formerly The Singing Machine Company), which recently published a white paper on handling increased freight volume through AI. Barclays noted this company had only $10 million in annual recurring revenue exiting 2025 and a cash balance of $2.8 million as of its September quarterly report.

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