C.H. Robinson Worldwide is the latest Fortune 500 company to see signs of a slowing economy.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota-based logistics giant reported a 4% drop in its overall revenue, driven largely by lower pricing for air and ocean transportation.
Its earnings-per-share (EPS) of $1.78 was significantly below the consensus Wall Street estimate of $2.15, sending the company's stock down 5.3% in mid-morning trading.
"Today, we believe that we are entering a time of slower economic growth where freight markets will continue to cool from their peaks," Bob Biesterfeld, CEO of C.H. Robinson, said in a statement.
The company had forecast in July slowing demand in the second half of the year, Biesterfeld said, on lower demand in retail and housing materials.
"We're now seeing those expectations play out, with slowing freight demand and price declines in the freight forwarding and surface transportation markets," he said.
Revenue for the company's North American surface transportation — that includes trucking and domestic air — increased 4.9% for the quarter, but sales in its global forwarding operations, which arranges international cargo transport for shippers, fell 23.6%.
The company's net income of $225.8 million was down 8.6% from a year ago.
On Monday, the company disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Arun Rajan, the company's chief product officer, had been named chief operating officer, effective immediately.
Before joining C.H. Robinson Rajun had been chief technology officer for Whole Foods, the Amazon-owned grocery chain.
"Arun is helping us think and act differently as we accelerate our pace of digital transformation and scale our operating model," Biesterfeld said, "In his new role, in addition to leading the product organization, Arun will have expanded direct responsibility for the technology and marketing organizations."
