October 27 - Earlier this week, large US logistics company CH Robinson said higher haulage costs and Hanjin'sbankruptcy were partly responsible for the fall in revenues and profits it recorded for third quarter.
Group-wide, the company achieved revenue of USD3.4 billion, down 1.9 percent quarter on quarter and posted a net profit of USD129 million, down 7.5 percent.
"We expected a challenging pricing environment in 2016 as shippers focus on reducing their transportation costs. Despite the decrease in some of our key financial metrics in the third quarter, we feel confident that we are making good progress on our long-term plans," said John Wiehoff, ceo and chairman. "We are adapting to the market conditions by achieving profitable volume growth and continuing to focus on improving our customers' supply chain outcomes."
The company said its truckload net revenues decreased 10.4 percent in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter of 2015. While total truckload volumes increased approximately 7.5 percent quarter on quarter, truckload net revenue margin decreased due primarily to lower customer pricing.
Ocean transportation net revenues decreased 3.1 percent in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter of 2015. The decrease in net revenues was primarily due to higher cost of capacity and pressured margins on fixed price business, resulting primarily from the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy.
Air transportation net revenues decreased 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2016 compared to the third quarter of 2015. The decrease was due to decreased net revenue margin, offset partially by increased volumes.
Customs net revenues increased 2.6 percent in the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same period of 2015. The increase was primarily due to increased transaction volumes.
Other logistics services net revenues, which includes managed services, warehousing, and small parcel, increased 31 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016, primarily from growth in managed services.
The quarter also saw the completion of CH Robinson's acquisition of Australasian freight forwarder APC Logistics last month, the latest in a long string of such deals, which started with the acquisition of Canadian project forwarder, Transera International.
UK general cargo newswire, the Loadstar, reports that CH Robinson is reviewing further acquisitions, especially outside its home market.
