C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Dave Bozeman: Yeah, Bruce, thanks for the question. The — today if you look at — let’s just focus on our two largest businesses, which really kind of drive overall for Robinson, in NAST and Global Forwarding. We track today our customers. Half of our customers use essentially both NAST and Global Forwarding Services are driven by [half] (ph). So what we’re looking at is that the opportunity there, while that’s good, we think that there’s a opportunity for more wallet share that we have there by unlocking the potential of those services. And as I look at this, showing up in a more synergistic fashion, which is something that I notice going forward, our customers really want that. They want solutions to complicated problems that they have in their supply chain.

We can offer that, and I think that separates us out. But showing up as kind of a la carte or individual solutions, I think while we’re generating some value there, there’s more value we get by really showing up as a suite of services to solve more complicated, deeper issues for the customer. And that’s why we’re focusing on that. We have good momentum and energy around that, and we have some structured things that we’re doing already within the company to drive and unlock some of that value.

Bruce Chan: I appreciate the color. Thank you.

Operator: Thank you. We actually do have time for an additional question. The next question is coming from David Vernon of Bernstein. Please go ahead.

David Vernon: Hey, good afternoon. Thanks for fitting me in here. Just a real quick question. It doesn’t sound like we’re given any sort of explicit guidance for the year, which I totally understand and respect given the uncertainty that’s out there. But I’d love your thoughts on whether sort of the exit rate of fourth quarter here is kind of as bad as it gets, or do we expect it to get a little rockier? And then any thoughts on how we can translate the productivity numbers you guys are giving us in terms of 32% compound into profitability? Thank you.

Mike Zechmeister: Yeah, thanks, David. So I would say a couple of things on that. We have a history of giving you expense guidance across the business. So we give you personnel, SG&A, CapEx, depreciation, amortization, tax rate, but we don’t give AGP. And that’s really because of the volatility that we all experience in this business and the difficulty in predicting the macro demand and capacity elements that drive the pricing there. So we’ve tried to stay away from that. Part and parcel to that, to your question about we’re here in the trough, how long does the trough last? When do we come out of it? We provide some guidance on our website about where we think pricing is going, but again, we’re doing our best to forecast where we’re at, but those things are very difficult to know with certainty. And so kind of the same element there of the comments that we’ve made, I think our back half of the year is when things start to really turn around the truck.

Operator: Thank you. At this time, I’d like to turn the floor back over to Mr. Ives for closing comments.

Chuck Ives: Thank you, everyone, for joining us today. That concludes today’s earnings call. We look forward to talking to you again. Have a great evening.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your participation. This concludes today’s event. You may disconnect your lines or log-off the webcast at this time and enjoy the rest of your day.

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