C.H. Robinson to acquire RXO in $5.8bn deal
Global logistics and supply chain services provider C.H. Robinson has announced that it has reached an agreement with provider of asset-light, tech-enabled transportation solutions RXO in a deal that is expected to create a combined company with an enterprise value of more than $25 billion.
C.H. Robinson expects to generate $300 million of net run-rate cost synergies within two years of closing its acquisition of RXO
C.H. Robinson
C.H. Robinson's $5.8 billion acquisition of RXO is expected to close in the first half of 2027 but remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval and approval by RXO’s stockholders.
The acquirer has said that this consolidation, which would create one business with an enterprise value of over $25bn, "brings together two complementary networks and diversifies and strengthens C.H. Robinson’s multi-modal platform to accelerate its growth and increase its penetration across all modes and segments".
It plans to use RXO's expertise in expedited and last-mile freight – as well as its "robust" trucking brokerage and managed transportation businesses – to strengthen its own offering while reaching a larger and more dense network of customers.
Drew Wilkerson, chairman and CEO of RXO, described joining C.H. Robinson as "an exciting next chapter" for the company, along with its employees and its customers. "By bringing together our complementary capabilities, talented teams and shared commitment to service, we will be able to offer customers greater scale, broader capabilities and even more value," he said.
What makes RXO a good acquisition for C.H. Robinson?
While truck brokerage is RXO's core business, representing 71% of the company's actual gross revenue in 2025, Dave Bozeman, president and CEO of C.H. Robinson, explained during a webcast on the acquisition that from his perspective, where RXO truly excels is its "differentiated and complementary last-mile and transportation solutions". In 2025, 20% of RXO's gross income came from last mile, while managed transportation accounted for 9%.
Bozeman highlighted the diversification of RXO's business across end-markets and limited customer overlap between the two businesses as ideal conditions for a takeover that would diversify C.H. Robinson's revenue mix, enhance resilience and better position the company to drive more consistent growth across market cycles.
RXO's automotive customers accounted for 6% of its actual gross revenue in 2025, with its greatest revenues coming from retail and e-commerce (37%), industrial and manufacturing (19%), and food and beverage (16%).
AI-driven productivity improvements
C.H. Robinson, which describes itself as "the global leader in Lean AI supply chains", intends to implement this Lean AI operating model across RXO’s business. Through this, the company has said, it expects to realise approximately $300 million of net run-rate cost synergies within two years of the transaction closing.
It has outlined cost-to-serve opportunities, operating efficiencies, shared-services savings and third-party spend optimisation as the greatest areas in which it can realise these opportunities.
Together, the two companies expect these productivity improvements to "create a more resilient platform to drive profitable growth with enhanced operating leverage and improved margins regardless of the freight market environment".
Beyond productivity and profitability improvements, C.H. Robinson has also acknowledged the value that the acquisition will bring in terms of expanding its existing proprietary datasets, which the company believes will help to enhance the speed and precision of its AI-driven sales, matching and procurement capabilities.
Reaching a broader market with a more comprehensive offering
C.H. Robinson has also emphasised that the purchase will "bring together C.H. Robinson’s global, multimodal solutions with RXO’s capabilities in North American brokerage, expedited and last mile" to allow the combined entity to deliver more tailored solutions to its customers while providing opportunities to deepen existing relationships and form new ones.
"This transaction is a natural next step in our transformation, allowing us to create a more scaled, resilient North American third-party logistics provider positioned to offer exceptional customer service and redefine the future of our industry,” said Dave Bozeman, president and CEO of C.H. Robinson. "Like C.H. Robinson, RXO is a customer-focused company with expertise and talent that will allow us to expand our capabilities to better support customers of all sizes on their most complex challenges."
"We are confident our experienced team and disciplined execution plan will allow us to seamlessly integrate our organisations and position the combined company to capture the expected synergies, drive innovation and deepen customer relationships to enhance profitable growth and shareholder value,” Bozeman added.
Consolidation a continuing trend
As Christopher Ludwig, chief content officer at Automotive Logistics, referenced in his opening speech at ALSC Global last month, logistics provider consolidation has been a significant trend in the past 12 months, from the proposed merger of the Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) Class I railroads to other examples in finished vehicle and contract logistics like Proficient Auto Logistics' acquisition of Hansen & Adkins and CMA CGM Group's agreement to acquire FedEx Supply Chain.
The trend of logistics provider consolidation will be one of the key themes of Automotive Logistics' end-of-year livestream, exploring the biggest trends and challenges of 2026 and how companies are preparing their supply chains for what 2027 might have in store. Make sure to register now so you don't miss out on this livestream, taking place online on December 2, 2026.
