C.H. Robinson (NASDAQ:CHRW) has introduced additional artificial intelligence agents for ocean freight, air cargo and customs brokerage, extending its automation technology into more areas of international freight forwarding.
The logistics company said the new systems support freight pricing, ocean shipment bookings and customs documentation, building on its existing AI capabilities under a strategy it refers to as “Lean AI”.
According to C.H. Robinson, its automated pricing systems have generated more than 80,000 freight quotations for over 3,600 customers, reducing the time required to prepare quotes for international shipments.
The expansion also includes a phased international rollout of AI-powered ocean booking tools and additional automation for US customs clearance procedures.
AI Freight Quotations Reduce Processing Times
C.H. Robinson reported that its AI agents have reduced the time needed to produce air and ocean freight quotations to approximately two to three minutes.
Previously, air freight quotations typically required around one day, while ocean freight quotations took between two and three days.
The company said its automated pricing technology has now delivered more than 80,000 quotations to over 3,600 customers.
The system is designed to process freight pricing requests and generate quotations without requiring the same level of manual intervention associated with traditional workflows.
The pricing capability was initially introduced in 2025 for less-than-container-load ocean freight shipments serving customers in the United States and Canada.
It has subsequently expanded to full-container-load ocean shipments and air freight services.
C.H. Robinson has also extended access to customers in Mexico, Europe, Latin America and Oceania.
A pilot programme is currently underway in China, while further deployment across Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East and Africa is expected during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Ocean Booking Automation Expands Across Asia
C.H. Robinson has also introduced AI agents designed to manage ocean freight booking requests.
The company launched the technology in China in August and plans to extend its availability to the rest of Asia during the fourth quarter of 2026.
A global rollout is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
The booking systems are intended to automate parts of the process involved in arranging ocean freight shipments, reducing the manual work required to handle customer requests.
Mike Neill, Chief Technology Officer at C.H. Robinson, said the company had previously introduced digital booking forms and electronic data exchange arrangements but had achieved limited automation.
“Before agentic AI, we’d developed digital booking forms and data exchange setups with customers, but over the course of about 10 years achieved only about 5% automation for ocean and air booking requests,” Neill said.
The company is now seeking to increase the proportion of booking activities handled through automated systems as its AI agents are deployed across additional markets.
C.H. Robinson has not disclosed a revised automation percentage for ocean and air freight bookings following the introduction of the new technology.
Customs AI Agents Process More Than 48 Document Types
The company’s latest AI deployment also covers customs brokerage operations.
C.H. Robinson said its AI agents can now process more than four dozen types of documents required for US customs clearance.
The technology is designed to automate document-handling activities that would otherwise require manual processing.
According to the company, the time spent completing these tasks has declined by 23% following the introduction of AI automation.
Customs brokerage involves processing documentation and information required to move goods across international borders in accordance with applicable customs requirements.
By automating elements of these workflows, C.H. Robinson aims to reduce administrative processing time and support its customs brokerage operations.
The company did not disclose the financial savings associated with the reported reduction in document-processing time.
C.H. Robinson Uses Data Infrastructure to Develop AI Agents
C.H. Robinson said its AI agents operate using a data environment containing approximately 100 trillion data points.
The company develops its technology through an internal team of around 450 software engineers and data scientists.
According to C.H. Robinson, it began developing proprietary AI agents in 2023 and has since expanded their use across logistics operations.
The latest applications focus on tasks that involve processing freight information, generating pricing responses, managing bookings and handling customs documents.
The company describes its approach as “Lean AI”, combining artificial intelligence with operational processes to automate selected activities within its logistics network.
The expansion into international freight forwarding follows earlier deployments of AI technology within the business.
International Rollout Continues Through 2027
C.H. Robinson’s deployment schedule includes several stages across different geographic markets and freight services.
Its automated quotation technology is already available for multiple ocean and air freight categories in North America, Europe, Latin America and Oceania.
The company expects to introduce pricing automation in additional Asian, Middle Eastern and African markets during the fourth quarter of 2026.
Ocean booking automation is scheduled to expand beyond China into other Asian markets during the same period, followed by a global launch in the first quarter of 2027.
The timetable indicates that the company’s international deployment will continue into next year, although the pace of adoption will depend on implementation across individual markets and customer workflows.
C.H. Robinson AI Development Outlook
The introduction of additional AI agents expands C.H. Robinson’s use of automation in international logistics operations.
The company has reported reductions in quotation processing times and customs documentation workloads, alongside increased use of automated pricing systems among its customers.
Its planned rollout of ocean booking automation and expansion into additional geographic markets will extend the technology to more freight forwarding activities.
C.H. Robinson has not provided specific revenue or profit forecasts associated with the latest AI deployments.
The operational impact will depend on customer adoption, the proportion of transactions handled automatically and the effectiveness of the systems as they are introduced across additional markets.