A sharp selloff in transportation equities on Thursday hit logistics and trucking stocks, with losses concentrated in asset-light, technology-enabled brokerage and forwarding firms. C.H. Robinson (CHRW) fell 14.54% despite recent investor optimism tied to its AI strategy; RXO dropped 20.45%, Landstar 15.6%, and Expeditors 13.18%. Several trucking names also declined, while the S&P 500 finished down 1.57%. Early Friday trading showed only partial rebounds.
Unusually, C.H. Robinson issued a public statement addressing the broader narrative (without explicitly discussing the magnitude of the drop). The company defended its AI adoption as a source of competitive advantage and reiterated confidence in its strategy, highlighting disciplined share repurchases. It also emphasized strong fundamentals—eight consecutive quarters of outperforming the freight market, solid liquidity and balance sheet strength, investment-grade credit, and a long record of dividend increases.
Analysts attempted to explain the decline. Baird Equity Research noted the weakness was not immediately attributable to a single catalyst but appeared focused on asset-light platforms vulnerable to automation. It cited four possible drivers: emerging debate over open-source automation agents (e.g., “Molt Bot”) that could level the technology playing field; signs that spot rates may be peaking after severe winter weather and ahead of larger tax rebates; legislative momentum that could accelerate autonomous trucking; and interpretations of the FMCSA rule on non-domiciled CDL holders that may imply slower-than-expected capacity tightening. Baird remained skeptical of the disruption risk, arguing large incumbents possess superior datasets and execution capabilities. Barclays similarly reiterated an Overweight view on CHRW, linking the selloff to attention around Open Mercato and claims by Algorhythm’s SemiCab platform about scaling volumes without proportional headcount growth, while still viewing CHRW as a key long-term disruptor.
