C. H. Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ: CHRW) reported Q4 EPS of $0.73, versus the analyst estimate of $0.96. Revenue for the quarter came in at $3.8 billion versus the consensus estimate of $3.75 billion.

“Despite a quarter of challenging operating results, I do believe we took important steps in the quarter. Pricing adjustments to reflect the current market enabled us to deliver flat volume in NAST truckload, including a mid-single-digit increase in contractual volume, and 4.5 percent volume growth in LTL, healthy market share gains in a quarter where volumes as measured by the Cass Freight Index declined approximately 6 percent. We are starting to see our increased investments in technology drive operating efficiency in our business, including a 330-basis point favorable spread between truckload volume growth and headcount growth in our NAST business,” said Bob Biesterfeld, Chief Executive Officer of C.H. Robinson.

Biesterfeld continued, “While our fourth quarter financial results demonstrate that we are not immune to large cyclical swings in the freight environment, we firmly believe that our continued investments through cycles will drive the alignment between net revenue growth and operating costs needed to drive operating margin expansion through freight cycles over the long term.”

In a separate press release issued today, C.H. Robinson also announced the acquisition of Prime Distribution Services, a leading provider of retail consolidation services in North America. Biesterfeld added, “We are excited about the scale and value-added warehouse capabilities that Prime will bring to our retail consolidation platform. Prime has a strong leadership team that is experienced in retail consolidation and warehouse operations. We are thrilled to welcome the employees, customers and carriers of Prime to C.H. Robinson.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on C. H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) click here.