Supply Chain Research

Freight forwarder CH Robinson reported 1Q 2018 revenues that rose 15% on a year earlier, beating analysts’ forecasts by 2%. The strong performance was due to a 28% rise in airfreight revenues. Yet, in common with much of the rest of the sector, that came at the expense of profitability. The firm’s EBITDA margin fell to 5.5% from 6.4% a year earlier and was below estimates of 5.8%. An aggressive approach to market share – shown by a 13% rise in U.S. marine inbound volumes vs. 7% for the industry – was one cause. Additionally there was a rise in driver costs in the U.S. surface business. T...