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TransportNewsCA · US · MX corridorFreight markets and cross-border tradeWednesday, November 4, 2026
Freight Markets

C.H. Robinson: truckload linehaul rates up 31.5% as carrier costs rise 33.5%

The largest U.S. broker grew North American volume 3.5% while the Cass shipments index fell 0.3%. Revenue rose 29.5% to $5.4 billion.

By Transport News Staff ·
Tractor-trailers parked and moving near Interstate 80 in West Wendover, Nevada.
Photo: Hermann Luyken / Wikimedia Commons · CC0

C.H. Robinson says truckload pricing jumped by almost a third in the third quarter of 2026, with the cost of buying capacity rising even faster. The Eden Prairie, Minn., broker reported its results on Oct. 28.

Rates vs. costs

In its North American Surface Transportation (NAST) unit:

  • average truckload linehaul rate per mile charged to customers, excluding fuel, rose about 31.5% year over year
  • truckload linehaul cost per mile paid to carriers, excluding fuel, rose 33.5%
  • truckload adjusted gross profit per mile still rose 21.5%

Costs rose faster than rates in percentage terms, but the broker still widened its per-mile margin.

CEO Dave Bozeman said the North American trucking market "continued to reflect a period of significant supply-driven tightening." He said the company repriced a large portion of its contract truckload book and captured spot volumes at higher margins.

Volume

NAST volume grew about 3.5%, compared with a 0.3% decline in the Cass Freight Shipment Index. C.H. Robinson said it was the 14th straight quarter its volume beat that index.

Truckload adjusted gross profit per shipment rose 17.0%. LTL adjusted gross profit rose 8.0%.

The quarter in numbers

| Q3 2026 | Result | Change | |---|---|---| | Total revenue | $5.4B | +29.5% | | Adjusted gross profit | $808.4M | +14.5% | | Income from operations | $271.8M | +23.1% | | Diluted EPS | $1.67 | +24.6% | | Adjusted diluted EPS | $1.80 | +28.6% | | Cash from operations | $124.1M | down $151.3M |

The company said operating cash fell because higher transportation rates tied up more working capital.

Ocean and air

Global Forwarding revenue rose 46.1% to $1.1 billion on higher ocean and air pricing. Ocean adjusted gross profit rose 23.2%.

Headcount and RXO

Average headcount fell 10.4%. C.H. Robinson returned $289.1 million to shareholders, up 52.5%. Bozeman said the company's operating model will be used to integrate RXO, which it is in the process of acquiring.

The takeaway

A broker paying carriers a third more per mile than a year ago is one more data point that truckload capacity is tight. Shippers renewing contracts this fall should expect that to show up in their rates.

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