Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018	Feb. 20, 2019	Jun. 29, 2018
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	C H ROBINSON WORLDWIDE INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001043277
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Trading Symbol	CHRW
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		136,853,710
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Public Float			$ 11,532,777,361

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 378,615	$ 333,890
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $41,131 and $42,409	2,162,438	2,113,930
Contract assets	159,635	0
Prepaid expenses and other	52,386	63,116
Total current assets	2,753,074	2,510,936
Property and equipment	498,847	497,909
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(270,546)	(267,583)
Net property and equipment	228,301	230,326
Goodwill	1,258,922	1,275,816
Other intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $156,246 and $122,283	108,822	151,585
Deferred tax assets	9,993	6,870
Other assets	68,300	60,301
Total assets	4,427,412	4,235,834
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	971,023	1,000,305
Outstanding checks	92,084	96,359
Accrued expenses–
Compensation	153,626	105,316
Transportation expense	119,820	0
Income taxes	28,360	12,240
Other accrued liabilities	63,410	58,229
Current portion of debt	5,000	715,000
Total current liabilities	1,433,323	1,987,449
Long-term debt	1,341,352	750,000
Noncurrent income taxes payable	21,463	26,684
Deferred tax liabilities	35,757	45,355
Other long-term liabilities	430	601
Total liabilities	2,832,325	2,810,089
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ investment:
Preferred stock, $0.10 par value, 20,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding	0	0
Common stock, $0.10 par value, 480,000 shares authorized; 179,400 and 179,103 shares issued, 137,284 and 139,542 outstanding	13,728	13,954
Additional paid-in capital	521,486	444,280
Retained earnings	3,845,593	3,437,093
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(71,935)	(18,460)
Treasury stock at cost (42,116 and 39,561 shares)	(2,713,785)	(2,451,122)
Total stockholders’ investment	1,595,087	1,425,745
Total liabilities and stockholders’ investment	$ 4,427,412	$ 4,235,834

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Receivables, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 41,131	$ 42,409
Other intangible assets, accumulated amortization	$ 156,246	$ 122,283
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Preferred stock, authorized (in shares)	20,000,000	20,000,000
Preferred stock, issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	480,000,000	480,000,000
Common stock, issued (in shares)	179,400,000	179,103,000
Common stock, outstanding (in shares)	137,284,000	139,542,000
Treasury stock (in shares)	42,116,000	39,561,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Costs and expenses:
Personnel expenses	1,343,542	1,179,527	1,064,936
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	449,610	413,404	375,061
Total costs and expenses	15,719,089	14,094,261	12,306,882
Income from operations	912,083	775,119	837,531
Interest and other expenses	(31,810)	(46,656)	(25,581)
Income before provision for income taxes	880,273	728,463	811,950
Provision for income taxes	215,768	223,570	298,566
Net income	664,505	504,893	513,384
Other comprehensive (loss) income	(53,475)	42,982	(23,496)
Comprehensive income	$ 611,030	$ 547,875	$ 489,888
Basic net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 4.78	$ 3.59	$ 3.60
Diluted net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 4.73	$ 3.57	$ 3.59
Basic weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	139,010	140,610	142,706
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards (in shares)	1,395	772	285
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	140,405	141,382	142,991
Transportation
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 15,515,921	$ 13,502,906	$ 11,704,745
Costs and expenses:
Purchased services and products	12,922,177	11,257,290	9,549,934
Sourcing
Revenues:
Total revenues	1,115,251	1,366,474	1,439,668
Costs and expenses:
Purchased services and products	$ 1,003,760	$ 1,244,040	$ 1,316,951

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Jan. 01, 2018
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance		$ 1,425,745		$ 1,257,847	$ 1,425,745	$ 1,257,847	$ 1,150,450
Net income	$ 187,150	$ 142,297	$ 152,556	$ 122,080	664,505	504,893	513,384
Cumulative Effect Change - ASU 2014-09								$ 9,239
Foreign currency translation					(53,475)	42,982	(23,496)
Dividends declared, $1.88 in 2018, $1.81 in 2017, and $1.74 in 2016 per share					(265,244)	(258,378)	(245,426)
Stock issued for employee benefit plans					$ 30,018	16,572	(17,405)
Issuance of restricted stock (in shares)					1,696,609
Issuance of restricted stock					$ 0	0	0
Stock-based compensation expense					87,791	41,814	38,554
Excess tax benefit on deferred compensation and employee stock plans							18,462
Repurchase of common stock					(303,492)	(179,985)	(176,676)
Ending Balance	$ 1,595,087		$ 1,425,745		$ 1,595,087	$ 1,425,745	$ 1,257,847
Common Stock
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance (in shares)		139,542,000		141,258,000	139,542,000	141,258,000	143,455,000
Beginning Balance		$ 13,954		$ 14,126	$ 13,954	$ 14,126	$ 14,345
Stock issued for employee benefit plans (in shares)					764,000	612,000	32,000
Stock issued for employee benefit plans					$ 76	$ 61	$ 3
Issuance of restricted stock (in shares)					297,000	97,000	221,000
Issuance of restricted stock					$ 30	$ 10	$ 22
Stock-based compensation expense (in shares)					0	1,000	17,000
Stock-based compensation expense					$ 0	$ 0	$ 3
Repurchase of common stock (in shares)					(3,319,000)	(2,426,000)	(2,467,000)
Repurchase of common stock					$ (332)	$ (243)	$ (247)
Ending Balance (in shares)	137,284,000		139,542,000		137,284,000	139,542,000	141,258,000
Ending Balance	$ 13,728		$ 13,954		$ 13,728	$ 13,954	$ 14,126
Additional Paid-in Capital
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance		444,280		419,280	444,280	419,280	379,444
Stock issued for employee benefit plans					(10,547)	(16,760)	(16,121)
Issuance of restricted stock					(30)	(10)	(22)
Stock-based compensation expense					87,783	41,770	37,517
Excess tax benefit on deferred compensation and employee stock plans							18,462
Ending Balance	521,486		444,280		521,486	444,280	419,280
Retained Earnings
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance		3,437,093		3,190,578	3,437,093	3,190,578	2,922,620
Net income					664,505	504,893	513,384
Dividends declared, $1.88 in 2018, $1.81 in 2017, and $1.74 in 2016 per share					(265,244)	(258,378)	(245,426)
Ending Balance	3,845,593		3,437,093		3,845,593	3,437,093	3,190,578
Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance		(18,460)		(61,442)	(18,460)	(61,442)	(37,946)
Foreign currency translation					(53,475)	42,982	(23,496)
Ending Balance	(71,935)		(18,460)		(71,935)	(18,460)	(61,442)
Treasury Stock
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Beginning Balance		(2,451,122)		$ (2,304,695)	(2,451,122)	(2,304,695)	(2,128,013)
Stock issued for employee benefit plans					40,489	33,271	(1,287)
Stock-based compensation expense					8	44	1,034
Repurchase of common stock					(303,160)	(179,742)	(176,429)
Ending Balance	(2,713,785)		$ (2,451,122)		$ (2,713,785)	$ (2,451,122)	$ (2,304,695)
ASU No. 2014-09
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Net income	$ (4,200)	$ 2,100
ASU No. 2014-09 \| Retained Earnings
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Cumulative Effect Change - ASU 2014-09								$ 9,239

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' INVESTMENT (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Statement of Stockholders' Equity [Abstract]
Dividends declared, per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.88	$ 1.81	$ 1.74

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income	$ 664,505	$ 504,893	$ 513,384
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	96,729	92,977	74,669
Provision for doubtful accounts	15,634	13,489	5,136
Stock-based compensation	87,791	41,805	37,565
Deferred income taxes	(15,315)	(28,096)	15,009
Excess tax benefit on stock-based compensation	(10,388)	(13,657)
Excess tax benefit on stock-based compensation			(18,462)
Other operating activities	1,815	4,491	1,907
Changes in operating elements, net of effects of acquisitions:
Receivables	(190,048)	(364,181)	(173,211)
Contract assets	(11,871)	0	0
Prepaid expenses and other	16,029	(9,173)	(6,378)
Other non-current assets	1,370	(19,099)	(3,934)
Accounts payable and outstanding checks	36,083	144,041	115,917
Accrued compensation	47,011	7,209	(47,570)
Accrued transportation expense	25,175	0	0
Accrued income taxes	21,176	18,817	19,921
Other accrued liabilities	7,200	(9,515)	(4,545)
Net cash provided by operating activities	792,896	384,001	529,408
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Purchases of property and equipment	(45,000)	(40,122)	(73,452)
Purchases and development of software	(18,871)	(17,823)	(17,985)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired	(5,315)	(49,068)	(220,203)
Other investing activities	(3,622)	(521)	(1,348)
Net cash used for investing activities	(72,808)	(107,534)	(312,988)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Proceeds from stock issued for employee benefit plans	51,285	38,130	19,271
Stock tendered for payment of withholding taxes	(21,264)	(21,557)	(36,678)
Repurchase of common stock	(300,991)	(185,485)	(172,925)
Cash dividends	(265,219)	(258,222)	(245,430)
Excess tax benefit on stock-based compensation	0	0	18,462
Proceeds from long-term borrowings	591,012	250,000	0
Proceeds from short-term borrowings	2,674,000	8,784,000	6,600,000
Payments on short-term borrowings	(3,384,000)	(8,809,000)	(6,310,000)
Net cash used for financing activities	(655,177)	(202,134)	(127,300)
Effect of exchange rates on cash	(20,186)	11,891	(9,683)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents	44,725	86,224	79,437
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year	333,890	247,666	168,229
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year	378,615	333,890	247,666
Supplemental cash flow disclosures
Cash paid for income taxes	215,644	262,861	269,187
Cash paid for interest	47,544	37,871	28,908
Accrued share repurchases held in other accrued liabilities	$ 3,000	$ 500	$ 5,988

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

BASIS OF PRESENTATION. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and our subsidiaries (“the company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) are a global provider of transportation services and logistics solutions through a network of offices operating in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and our majority owned and controlled subsidiaries. Our minority interests in subsidiaries are not significant. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

USE OF ESTIMATES. The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates have been prepared on the basis of the most current and best information, and our actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

REVENUE RECOGNITION. At contract inception, we assess the goods and services promised in our contracts with customers and identify our performance obligations to provide distinct goods and services to our customers. We have determined that the following distinct goods and services represent our primary performance obligations.

Transportation and Logistics Services - As a third party logistics provider, our primary performance obligation under our customer contracts is to utilize our relationships with a wide variety of transportation companies to efficiently and cost-effectively transport our customers’ freight. Revenue is recognized for these performance obligations as they are satisfied over the contract term, which generally represents the transit period. The transit period can vary based upon the method of transport, generally a couple days for over the road, rail, and air transportation, or several weeks in the case of an ocean shipment. Determining the transit period and how much of it has been completed as of the reporting date may require management to make judgments that affect the timing of revenue recognized. When the customers’ freight reaches its intended destination our performance obligation is complete. Pricing for our services is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

We also provide certain value-added logistics services, such as customs brokerage, fee-based managed services, warehousing services, small parcel, and supply chain consulting and optimization services. These services may include one or more performance obligations which are generally satisfied over the service period as we perform our obligations. The service period may be a very short duration, in the case of customs brokerage and small parcel, or it may be longer in the case of warehousing, managed services and supply chain consulting and optimization services. Pricing for our services is established in the customer contract and is dependent upon the specific needs of the customer but may be agreed upon at a fixed fee per transaction, labor hour, or service period. Payment is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

Sourcing Services - We contract with grocery retailers, restaurants, foodservice distributors, and produce wholesalers to provide sourcing services under the trade name Robinson Fresh. Our primary service obligation under these contracts is the buying, selling, and/or marketing of produce including fresh fruits, vegetables, and other value-added perishable items. Revenue is recognized when our performance obligations under these contracts is satisfied at a point in time, generally when the produce is received by our customer. Pricing under these contracts is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

In many cases, as additional performance obligations, we contract to arrange logistics and transportation of the products we buy, sell, and/or market. These performance obligations are satisfied over the contract term consistent with our other transportation and logistics services. The contract period is typically less than one year. Pricing for our services is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

Total revenues represent the total dollar value of revenue recognized from contracts with customers for the goods and services we provide. Substantially all of our revenue is attributable to contracts with our customers. Our net revenues are our total revenues less purchased transportation and related services, including contracted motor carrier, rail, ocean, air, and other costs, and the purchase price and services related to the products we source. Most transactions in our transportation and sourcing businesses are recorded at the gross amount we charge our customers for the service we provide and goods we sell. In these transactions, we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the specified good or service to our customer and we have discretion in establishing the price for the specified good or service. Additionally, in our sourcing business, in some cases we take inventory risk before the specified good has been transferred to our customer. Customs brokerage, managed services, freight forwarding, and sourcing managed procurement transactions are recorded at the net amount we charge our customers for the service we provide because many of the factors stated above are not present.

CONTRACT ASSETS. Contract assets represent amounts for which we have the right to consideration for the services we have provided while a shipment is still in-transit but for which we have not yet completed our performance obligation or have not yet invoiced our customer. Upon completion of our performance obligations, which can vary in duration based upon the method of transport, and billing our customer these amounts become classified within accounts receivable and are then typically due within 30 days.

ACCRUED TRANSPORTATION EXPENSE. Accrued transportation expense represents amounts we owe to vendors, primarily transportation providers, for the services they have provided while a shipment is still in-transit as of the reporting date.

ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS. Accounts receivable are reduced by an allowance for amounts that may become uncollectible in the future. We continuously monitor payments from our customers and maintain a provision for uncollectible accounts based upon our customer aging trends, historical loss experience, and any specific customer collection issues that we have identified.

FOREIGN CURRENCY. Most balance sheet accounts of foreign subsidiaries are translated or remeasured at the current exchange rate as of the end of the year. Statement of operations items are translated at average exchange rates during the year. We have asserted that we will indefinitely reinvest earnings of foreign subsidiaries to support expansion of our international businesses and accordingly translation adjustments are recorded gross of any related income tax effects.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank deposits and highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less from the time of purchase. Cash and cash equivalents held outside the United States totaled $320.0 million and $275.3 million as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. The majority of our cash and cash equivalents balance is denominated in U.S. dollars although these balances are frequently held in locations where the U.S. dollar is not the functional currency.

PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER. Prepaid expenses and other include such items as prepaid rent, software maintenance contracts, insurance premiums, other prepaid operating expenses, and inventories, consisting primarily of produce and related products held for resale.

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT. Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Maintenance and repair expenditures are charged to expense as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated lives of the assets. Amortization of leasehold improvements is computed over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the improvements.

We recognized the following depreciation expense (in thousands):



2018	$	45,155
2017	42,817
2016	36,212

A summary of our property and equipment as of December 31, is as follows (in thousands):



	Useful Lives (in years)	2018			2017
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment	3 to 12	$	272,733		$	277,014
Buildings	3 to 30	130,959			130,712
Corporate aircraft	10	11,337			11,334
Leasehold improvements	3 to 15	58,929			50,616
Land		23,648			23,658
Construction in progress		1,241			4,575
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(270,546		)	(267,583		)
Net property and equipment		$	228,301		$	230,326

GOODWILL. Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquired businesses over the net of the fair value of identifiable tangible net assets and identifiable intangible assets purchased and liabilities assumed. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level (operating segment or one level below an operating segment) on an annual basis (November 30 for us) and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value. See Note 2, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS. Other intangible assets include definite-lived customer lists, non-competition agreements, and indefinite-lived trademarks. The definite-lived intangible assets are being amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated lives, ranging from five to eight years. Definite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The indefinite-lived trademarks are not amortized. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable, or annually, at a minimum. See Note 2, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

OTHER ASSETS. Other assets consist primarily of purchased and internally developed software, and the investments related to our nonqualified deferred compensation plan. We amortize software using the straight-line method over three years. We recognized the following amortization expense of purchased and internally developed software (in thousands):



2018	$	14,688
2017	13,887
2016	11,404

A summary of our purchased and internally developed software as of December 31, is as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Purchased software	$	32,460		$	25,805
Internally developed software	68,853			55,165
Less accumulated amortization	(66,638		)	(54,194		)
Net software	$	34,675		$	26,776

INCOME TAXES. Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted rates.

Annual tax provisions include amounts considered sufficient to pay assessments that may result from examination of prior year tax returns; however, the amount ultimately paid upon resolution of issues raised may differ from the amounts accrued.

The financial statement benefits of an uncertain income tax position are recognized when more likely than not, based on the technical merits, the position will be sustained upon examination. Unrecognized tax benefits are, more likely than not, owed to a taxing authority, and the amount of the contingency can be reasonably estimated. Uncertain income tax positions are included in “Accrued income taxes” or “Noncurrent income taxes payable” in the consolidated balance sheets.

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS). Comprehensive income (loss) consists of foreign currency translation adjustments. It is presented on our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income gross of related income tax effects.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION. We issue stock awards, including stock options, performance shares, and restricted stock units, to key employees and outside directors. In general, the awards vest over five years, either based on the company’s earnings growth or the passage of time. The related compensation expense for each award is recognized over the appropriate vesting period. The fair value of each share-based payment award is established on the date of grant. For grants of shares and restricted stock units, the fair value is established based on the market price on the date of the grant, discounted for post-vesting holding restrictions. The discounts on outstanding grants vary from 15 percent to 21 percent and are calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model-protective put method. Changes in measured stock volatility and interest rates are the primary reason for changes in the discount.

For grants of options, we use the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of share-based payment awards. The determination of the fair value of share-based awards is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions, including expected volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends.

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill was allocated to each segment based on their relative fair value at November 30, 2016, due to the reorganization of our reporting structure. After that date, we allocate goodwill to reporting units based on the reporting unit expected to benefit from the business combination. The change in the carrying amount of goodwill is as follows (in thousands):



	NAST			Global Forwarding			Robinson Fresh			All Other and Corporate			Total
December 31, 2016 balance	$	907,230		$	159,050		$	139,558		$	26,958		$	1,232,796
Acquisitions	3,673			24,918			—			—			28,591
Foreign currency translation	10,583			1,905			1,627			314			14,429
December 31, 2017 balance	921,486			185,873			141,185			27,272			1,275,816
Acquisitions	(40		)	33			—			—			(7		)
Foreign currency translation	(11,038		)	(3,877		)	(1,653		)	(319		)	(16,887		)
December 31, 2018 balance	$	910,408		$	182,029		$	139,532		$	26,953		$	1,258,922

Goodwill is tested at least annually for impairment on November 30, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. We first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units is less than their respective carrying value (“Step Zero Analysis”). If the Step Zero Analysis indicates it is more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units is less than their respective carrying value, an additional impairment assessment is performed (“Step One Analysis”). Based on our Step Zero Analysis, we determined that the more likely than not criteria had not been met, and therefore a Step 1 Analysis was not required.

No goodwill or intangible asset impairment has been recorded in any period presented.

Identifiable intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31 (in thousands):



	2018							2017
	Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net		Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net
Finite-lived intangibles
Customer relationships	$	254,293	$	(156,006	)	$	98,287	$	263,093	$	(122,103	)	$	140,990
Non-competition agreements	300		(240		)	60		300		(180		)	120
Total finite-lived intangibles	254,593		(156,246		)	98,347		263,393		(122,283		)	141,110
Indefinite-lived intangibles
Trademarks	10,475		—			10,475		10,475		—			10,475
Total intangibles	$	265,068	$	(156,246	)	$	108,822	$	273,868	$	(122,283	)	$	151,585

Amortization expense for other intangible assets was (in thousands):



2018	$	36,886
2017	36,273
2016	27,053

Finite-lived intangible assets, by reportable segment, as of December 31, 2018, will be amortized over their remaining lives as follows (in thousands):



	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Total
2019	$	7,800	$	28,413	$	—	$	—	$	36,213
2020	240		25,710		—		—		25,950
2021	240		12,188		—		—		12,428
2022	240		12,188		—		—		12,428
2023	240		9,595		—		—		9,835
Thereafter	219		1,274		—		—		1,493
Total									$	98,347

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Accounting guidance on fair value measurements for certain financial assets and liabilities requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:


•	Level 1-Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.


•	Level 2-Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.


•	Level 3-Unobservable inputs reflecting the reporting entity’s own assumptions or external inputs from inactive markets.

A financial asset or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

We had no Level 3 assets or liabilities as of and during the periods ended December 31, 2018, or December 31, 2017. There were no transfers between levels during the period.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details

FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS

The components of our short-term and long-term debt and the associated interest rates were as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Average interest rate as of					Carrying value as of
	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		Maturity	December 31, 2018			December 31, 2017
Revolving credit facility	3.64	%	2.70	%	October 2023	$	5,000		$	715,000
Senior Notes, Series A	3.97	%	3.97	%	August 2023	175,000			175,000
Senior Notes, Series B	4.26	%	4.26	%	August 2028	150,000			150,000
Senior Notes, Series C	4.60	%	4.60	%	August 2033	175,000			175,000
Receivables securitization facility ⁽¹⁾	3.15	%	2.00	%	December 2020	249,744			250,000
Senior Notes ⁽¹⁾	4.20	%	N/A		April 2028	591,608			—
Total debt						1,346,352			1,465,000
Less: Current maturities and short-term borrowing						(5,000		)	(715,000		)
Long-term debt						$	1,341,352		$	750,000

⁽¹⁾Net of unamortized discounts and issuance costs.

SENIOR UNSECURED REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY

We have a senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Agreement"). On October 24, 2018, the Credit Agreement was amended to increase the total availability from $900 million to $1 billion and extend the maturity date from December 31, 2019, to October 24, 2023. Borrowings under the Credit Agreement generally bear interest at a variable rate determined by a pricing schedule or the base rate (which is the highest of (a) the administrative agent's prime rate, (b) the federal funds rate plus 0.50 percent, or (c) the sum of one-month LIBOR plus a specified margin). As of December 31, 2018, the variable rate equaled LIBOR plus 1.13 percent. In addition, there is a commitment fee on the average daily undrawn stated amount under each letter of credit issued under the facility ranging from 0.075 percent to 0.200 percent. The recorded amount of borrowings outstanding approximates fair value because of the short maturity period of the debt; therefore, we consider these borrowings to be a Level 2 financial liability.

The Credit Agreement contains various restrictions and covenants that require us to maintain certain financial ratios, including a maximum leverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00. The Credit Agreement also contains customary events of default. If an event of default under the Credit Agreement occurs and is continuing, then the administrative agent may declare any outstanding obligations under the Credit Agreement to be immediately due and payable. In addition, if we become the subject of voluntary or involuntary proceedings under any bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar law, then any outstanding obligations under the Credit Agreement will automatically become immediately due and payable.

NOTE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

On August 23, 2013, we entered into a Note Purchase Agreement with certain institutional investors (the “Purchasers”). On August 27, 2013, the Purchasers purchased an aggregate principal amount of $500 million of our Senior Notes, Series A, Senior Notes Series B, and Senior Notes Series C, collectively (the “Notes”). Interest on the Notes is payable semi-annually in arrears. The fair value of the Notes approximated $484.7 million at December 31, 2018. We estimate the fair value of the Notes primarily using an expected present value technique, which is based on observable market inputs using interest rates currently available to companies of similar credit standing for similar terms and remaining maturities, and considering our own risk. If the Notes were recorded at fair value, they would be classified as Level 2.

The Note Purchase Agreement contains various restrictions and covenants that require us to maintain certain financial ratios, including a maximum leverage ratio of 3.00 to 1.00, a minimum interest coverage ratio of 2.00 to 1.00, and a maximum consolidated priority debt to consolidated total asset ratio of 15 percent.

The Note Purchase Agreement provides for customary events of default. The occurrence of an event of default would permit certain Purchasers to declare certain Notes then outstanding to be immediately due and payable. Under the terms of the Note Purchase Agreement, the Notes are redeemable, in whole or in part, at 100 percent of the principal amount being redeemed together with a “make-whole amount” (as defined in the Note Purchase Agreement), and accrued and unpaid interest with respect to each Note. The obligations of the company under the Note Purchase Agreement and the Notes are guaranteed by C.H. Robinson Company, a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, and by C.H. Robinson Company, Inc., a Minnesota corporation and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

U.S. TRADE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SECURITIZATION

On April 26, 2017, we entered into a receivables purchase agreement and related transaction documents with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., New York Branch and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. to provide a receivables securitization facility (the “Receivables Securitization Facility”). On December 17, 2018, we entered into an amendment on the Receivables Securitization Facility which changed the lending parties to Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Bank of America, N.A. and extended the maturity date from April 26, 2019, to December 17, 2020. The Receivables Securitization Facility is based on the securitization of our U.S. trade accounts receivable and provides funding of up to $250 million. The interest rate on borrowings under the Receivables Securitization Facility is based on 30 day LIBOR plus a margin. There is also a commitment fee we are required to pay on any unused portion of the facility. The Receivables Securitization Facility expires on December 17, 2020, unless extended by the parties. The recorded amount of borrowings outstanding on the Receivables Securitization Facility approximates fair value because it can be redeemed on short notice and the interest rate floats. We consider these borrowings to be a Level 2 financial liability.

The Receivables Securitization Facility contains various customary affirmative and negative covenants, and it also contains customary default and termination provisions which provide for acceleration of amounts owed under the Receivables Securitization Facility upon the occurrence of certain specified events.

SENIOR NOTES

On April 9, 2018, we issued senior unsecured notes ("Senior Notes") through a public offering. The Senior Notes bear an annual interest rate of 4.20 percent payable semi-annually on April 15 and October 15, until maturity on April 15, 2028. The proceeds from the Senior Notes were utilized to pay down the balance on our Credit Agreement. Taking into effect the amortization of the original issue discount and all underwriting and issuance expenses, the Senior Notes have an effective yield to maturity of approximately 4.39 percent per annum. The fair value of the Senior Notes, excluding debt discounts and issuance costs, approximated $587.2 million as of December 31, 2018, based primarily on the market prices quoted from external sources. The carrying value of the Senior Notes was $591.6 million as of December 31, 2018. If the Senior Notes were measured at fair value in the financial statements, they would be classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy.

We may redeem the Senior Notes, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time prior to their maturity at the applicable redemption prices described in the Senior Notes. Upon the occurrence of a “change of control triggering event” as defined in the Senior Notes (generally, a change of control of us accompanied by a reduction in the credit rating for the Senior Notes), we will generally be required to make an offer to repurchase the Senior Notes from holders at 101 percent of their principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date of repurchase.

The Senior Notes were issued under an indenture that contains covenants imposing certain limitations on our ability to incur liens, enter into sales and leaseback transactions and consolidate, merge or transfer substantial all of our assets and those of our subsidiaries on a consolidated basis. It also provides for customary events of default (subject in certain cases to customary grace and cure periods), which include among other things nonpayment, breach of covenants in the indenture, and certain events of bankruptcy and insolvency. If an event of default occurs and is continuing with respect to the Senior Notes, the trustee or holders of at least 25 percent in principal amount outstanding of the Senior Notes may declare the principal and the accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all of the outstanding Senior Notes to be due and payable. These covenants and events of default are subject to a number of important qualifications, limitations, and exceptions that are described in the indenture. The indenture does not contain any financial ratios or specified levels of net worth or liquidity to which we must adhere.

As of December 31, 2018, we were in compliance with all of the covenants under the Credit Agreement, Note Purchase Agreement, Receivables Securitization Facility, and Senior Notes.

INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

INCOME TAXES

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and its 80 percent (or more) owned U.S. subsidiaries file a consolidated federal income tax return. We file unitary or separate state returns based on state filing requirements.

On December 22, 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act makes broad and complex changes to the U.S. tax code, including but not limited to, reducing the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and requiring companies to pay a one-time transition tax on certain unrepatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries and adding new rules for Global Intangible Low-tax Income (“GILTI”) and Foreign Derived Intangible Income. We have elected to treat tax on GILTI as a period cost and therefore have included it in our annual effective tax rate.

The SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) 118, which provides guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides a measurement period that should not extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the accounting under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 740. In connection with our initial analysis of the impact of the Tax Act, we recorded a discrete net tax benefit of $12.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2017. During 2018, we completed our accounting for the income tax effects of the Tax Act. We recorded an additional net tax expense of $4.0 million related to an increase in 2017 transition taxes and recorded additional net tax benefits of $0.6 million, resulting in a revised tax benefit of $8.7 million.

In 2018, our indefinite reinvestment strategy, with respect to unremitted earnings of our foreign subsidiaries provided an approximate $3.4 million benefit to our provision for income taxes related to current year earnings. If we repatriated all foreign earnings, the estimated effect on income taxes payable would be an increase of approximately $14.8 million as of December 31, 2018. With few exceptions, we are no longer subject to audits of U.S. federal, state and local, or non-U.S. income tax returns before 2010.

Income before provision for income taxes consisted of (in thousands):



	2018		2017		2016
Domestic	$	738,927	$	638,718	$	710,931
Foreign	141,346		89,745		101,019
Total	$	880,273	$	728,463	$	811,950

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period	$	31,806		$	12,268		$	13,271
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	—			4,014			—
Additions for tax positions of prior years	1,662			16,713			55
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(263		)	—			(211		)
Lapse in statute of limitations	(1,394		)	(1,189		)	(847		)
Settlements	(296		)	—			—
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of the period	$	31,515		$	31,806		$	12,268

As of December 31, 2018, we had $38.0 million of unrecognized tax benefits and related interest and penalties, all of which would affect our effective tax rate if recognized. We are not aware of any tax positions for which it is reasonably possible that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefit will significantly increase or decrease in the next 12 months. The total liability for unrecognized tax benefits is expected to decrease by approximately $2.1 million in the next 12 months due to lapsing of statutes.

Income tax expense considers amounts which may be needed to cover exposures for open tax years. We do not expect any material impact related to open tax years; however, actual settlements may differ from amounts accrued.

We recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions in the provision for income taxes. During the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016, we recognized approximately $1.0 million, $0.7 million, and $0.9 million in interest and penalties. We had approximately $6.5 million and $6.8 million for the payment of interest and penalties accrued within noncurrent income taxes payable as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. These amounts are not included in the reconciliation above.

The components of the provision for income taxes consist of the following for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Tax provision:
Federal	$	152,627		$	189,708		$	222,685
State	38,626			29,320			31,786
Foreign	39,830			32,638			29,086
	231,083			251,666			283,557
Deferred provision (benefit):
Federal	(11,969		)	(21,389		)	13,936
State	(3,176		)	(3,048		)	1,986
Foreign	(170		)	(3,659		)	(913		)
	(15,315		)	(28,096		)	15,009
Total provision	$	215,768		$	223,570		$	298,566

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes using the statutory federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, is as follows:



	2018		2017		2016
Federal statutory rate	21.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	3.3		2.6		2.7
Tax Act impact	0.4		(1.7	)	—
Section 199 deduction	—		(2.8	)	—
Share-based payment awards	(0.7	)	(1.9	)	—
Other	0.5		(0.5	)	(0.9	)
Effective income tax rate	24.5	%	30.7	%	36.8	%

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) are comprised of the following at December 31 (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Deferred tax assets:
Compensation	$	57,666		$	52,538
Accrued expenses	27,683			3,155
Receivables	8,093			8,819
Other	6,004			4,737
Deferred tax liabilities:
Intangible assets	(77,059		)	(81,932		)
Accrued revenue	(19,571		)	—
Prepaid assets	(5,798		)	(8,247		)
Long-lived assets	(15,615		)	(15,465		)
Other	(7,167		)	(2,090		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(25,764	)	$	(38,485	)

We had foreign net operating loss carryforwards with a tax effect of $8.1 million as of December 31, 2018, and $10.9 million as of December 31, 2017. The net operating loss carryforwards will expire at various dates from 2019 to 2025, with certain jurisdictions having indefinite carryforward terms. We continually monitor and review the foreign net operating loss carryforwards to determine the ability to realize the deferred tax assets associated with the foreign net operating loss carryforwards. As of December 31, 2017, a full valuation allowance was established for the foreign net operating loss carryforwards due to the uncertainty of the use of the tax benefit in future periods. During 2018, we determined that a portion of the foreign net operating loss carryforwards would be able to be utilized and as such have reduced the valuation allowance recorded against the deferred tax asset related to the foreign operating loss carryforwards in the amount of $1.7 million.

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS

PREFERRED STOCK. Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes the issuance of 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.10 per share. There are no shares of preferred stock outstanding. The preferred stock may be issued by resolution of our Board of Directors at any time without any action of the stockholders. The Board of Directors may issue the preferred stock in one or more series and fix the designation and relative powers. These include voting powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations, and restrictions of each series. The issuance of any such series may have an adverse effect on the rights of holders of common stock and may impede the completion of a merger, tender offer, or other takeover attempt.

COMMON STOCK. Our Certificate of Incorporation authorizes 480,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.10 per share. Subject to the rights of preferred stock which may from time to time be outstanding, holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available, when and if declared by the Board of Directors, and to receive their share of the net assets of the company legally available for distribution upon liquidation or dissolution.

For each share of common stock held, stockholders are entitled to one vote on each matter to be voted on by the stockholders, including the election of directors. Holders of common stock are not entitled to cumulative voting. The stockholders do not have preemptive rights. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

STOCK AWARD PLANS. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the value of the award and is recognized as expense as it vests. A summary of our total compensation expense recognized in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for stock-based compensation is as follows (in thousands):



	2018		2017		2016
Stock options	$	23,374	$	10,109	$	9,178
Stock awards	61,826		29,217		25,912
Company expense on ESPP discount	2,591		2,479		2,475
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	87,791	$	41,805	$	37,565

On May 12, 2016, our shareholders approved an amendment to and restatement of our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, which allows us to grant certain stock awards, including stock options at fair market value and restricted shares and restricted stock units, to our key employees and outside directors. A maximum of 13,041,803 shares can be granted under this plan. Approximately 1,571,347 shares were available for stock awards under this plan as of December 31, 2018. Shares subject to awards that expire or are canceled without delivery of shares or that are settled in cash, generally become available again for issuance under the plan.

We have awarded performance-based stock options to certain key employees. These options are subject to certain vesting requirements over a five-year period, based on the company’s earnings growth. Any options remaining unvested at the end of the five-year vesting period are forfeited to the company. Although participants can exercise options via a stock swap exercise, we do not issue reloads (restoration options) on the grants.

The fair value of these options is established based on the market price on the date of grant, discounted for post-vesting holding restrictions, calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Changes in measured stock price volatility and interest rates are the primary reasons for changes in the discount. These grants are being expensed based on the terms of the awards. As of December 31, 2018, unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options was $56.1 million. The amount of future expense to be recognized will be based on the company’s earnings growth and certain other conditions.

The following schedule summarizes stock option activity in the plans. All outstanding unvested options as of December 31, 2018, relate to performance-based grants from 2014 and time-based grants from 2015 through 2018.



	Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)		Average Remaining Life (years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2017	7,382,072		$	71.58	$	129,295	7.6
Grants	1,074,665		88.92
Exercised	(578,467	)	65.13
Terminated	(55,756	)	73.92
Outstanding at December 31, 2018	7,822,514		$	74.42	$	85,222	7.2

Vested at December 31, 2018	4,191,118		$	68.35			5.9
Exercisable at December 31, 2018	4,191,118		$	68.35			5.9

Additional potential dilutive stock options totaling 5,296 for 2018 have been excluded from our diluted net income per share calculations because these securities’ exercise prices were anti-dilutive (e.g., greater than the average market price of our common stock).

Information on the intrinsic value of options exercised is as follows (in thousands):



2018	$	16,209
2017	6,026
2016	981

The following table summarizes performance based options by vesting period:

First Vesting Date

Last Vesting Date

Options
Granted, Net of
Forfeitures

Weighted
Average Grant
Date Fair Value

Unvested Options

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2019

1,253,443

$

14.17

136,781

We have issued no performance-based options since 2014. We have awarded stock options to certain key employees that vest primarily based on their continued employment. The value of these awards is established by the market price on the date of the grant, discounted for post-vesting holding restrictions, calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and is being expensed over the vesting period of the award. The following table summarizes these unvested stock option grants as of December 31, 2018:



First Vesting Date	Last Vesting Date	Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Unvested Options
December 31, 2016	December 31, 2020	1,421,933	$	12.66	561,579
December 31, 2017	December 31, 2021	1,246,480	12.60		735,744
December 31, 2018	December 31, 2022	1,470,606	14.25		1,162,504
December 31, 2019	December 31, 2023	1,034,788	20.52		1,034,788
		5,173,807	$	14.67	3,494,615

Determining Fair Value

We estimated the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. We estimate the fair value of restricted shares and units using the Black-Scholes option pricing model-protective put method. A description of significant assumptions used to estimate the expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected terms is as follows:

Risk-Free Interest Rate-The risk-free interest rate was based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues at the date of grant with a term equal to the expected term.

Dividend Yield-The dividend yield assumption is based on our history of dividend payouts.

Expected Volatility-Expected volatility was determined based on implied volatility of our traded options and historical volatility of our stock price.

Expected Term-Expected term represents the period that our stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding and was determined based on historical experience and anticipated future exercise patterns, giving consideration to the contractual terms of unexercised stock-based awards.

The fair value per option was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions:



	2018 Grants			2017 Grants			2016 Grants
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate	3.1		%	2.3		%	2.1		%
Expected dividend yield	2.0		%	2.5%			2.4%
Weighted-average volatility	25%			20%			20%
Expected term (in years)	6.08			6.20			6.26
Weighted average fair value per option	$	20.52		$	14.23		$	12.60

FULL VALUE AWARDS. We have awarded performance based restricted shares and restricted stock units to certain key employees and non-employee directors. These awards are subject to certain vesting requirements over a five-year period, based on the company’s earnings growth. The awards also contain restrictions on the awardees’ ability to sell or transfer vested awards for a specified period of time. The fair value of these awards is established based on the market price on the date of grant, discounted for post-vesting holding restrictions. The discounts on outstanding grants vary from 15 percent to 21 percent and are calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model-protective put method. Changes in measured stock price volatility and interest rates are the primary reasons for changes in the discount. These grants are being expensed based on the terms of the awards.

The following table summarizes our unvested performance based restricted shares and restricted stock unit grants as of December 31, 2018:



	Number of Shares and Restricted Stock Units		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2017	1,215,459		$	61.71
Granted	340,287		74.54
Vested	(687,463	)	60.14
Forfeitures	(22,113	)	60.50
Unvested at December 31, 2018	846,170		$	68.35

The following table summarizes performance based restricted shares and restricted stock units by vesting period:



First Vesting Date	Last Vesting Date	Performance Shares and Stock Units Granted, Net of Forfeitures	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value⁽¹⁾		Unvested Performance Shares and Restricted Stock Units
December 31, 2015	December 31, 2019	323,442	$	61.75	34,572
December 31, 2016	December 31, 2020	389,644	51.88		139,431
December 31, 2017	December 31, 2021	339,808	64.91		162,955
December 31, 2018	December 31, 2022	312,797	74.26		178,294
December 31, 2019	December 31, 2023	330,918	74.48		330,918
		1,696,609	$	64.91	846,170

________________________


⁽¹⁾	Amount shown is the weighted average grant date fair value of performance shares and restricted stock units granted, net of forfeitures.

We have also awarded time-based restricted shares and restricted stock units to certain key employees that vest primarily based on their continued employment. The value of these awards is established by the market price on the date of the grant and discount for post-vesting holding restrictions and is being expensed over the vesting period of the award. The following table summarizes these unvested restricted share and restricted stock unit grants as of December 31, 2018:



	Number of Restricted Shares and Stock Units		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2017	1,057,450		$	62.20
Granted	279,679		74.54
Vested	(324,965	)	58.46
Forfeitures	(85,472	)	62.57
Unvested at December 31, 2018	926,692		$	67.08

We have also issued to certain key employees and non-employee directors restricted stock units which are fully vested upon issuance. These units contain restrictions on the awardees’ ability to sell or transfer vested units for a specified period of time. The fair value of these units is established using the same method discussed above. These grants have been expensed during the year they were earned.

A summary of the fair value of full value awards vested (in thousands):



2018	$	61,826
2017	29,217
2016	25,912

As of December 31, 2018, there was unrecognized compensation expense of $120.0 million related to previously granted full value awards. The amount of future expense to be recognized will be based on the company’s earnings growth and the continued employment of certain key employees.

EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN. Our 1997 Employee Stock Purchase Plan allows our employees to contribute up to $10,000 of their annual cash compensation to purchase company stock. Purchase price is determined using the closing price on the last day of the quarter discounted by 15 percent. Shares are vested immediately. The following is a summary of the employee stock purchase plan activity (dollar amounts in thousands):



	Shares Purchased By Employees	Aggregate Cost to Employees		Expense Recognized By the Company
2018	191,823	$	14,682	$	2,591
2017	215,613	14,048		2,479
2016	225,241	14,032		2,475

SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAMS. During 2013, our Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program that allows the Company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares. That program was completed in September 2018. In May 2018, the Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program that allows the Company to repurchase 15,000,000 shares of our common stock. The activity under these authorizations is as follows (dollar amounts in thousands):



	Shares Repurchased	Total Value of Shares Repurchased
2016 Repurchases	2,467,097	$	176,676
2017 Repurchases	2,426,407	179,985
2018 Repurchases	3,319,077	303,492

As of December 31, 2018, there were 13,673,080 shares remaining for repurchase under the current authorization.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS. We offer a defined contribution plan, which qualifies under section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code and covers all eligible U.S. employees. We can also elect to make matching contributions to the plan. Annual discretionary contributions may also be made to the plan. Defined contribution plan expense, including matching contributions, was approximately (in thousands):



2018	$	43,172
2017	27,530
2016	25,740

We have committed to a defined contribution match of six percent of eligible compensation in 2019. We contributed a defined contribution match of four percent in 2018, 2017, and 2016.

NONQUALIFIED DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN. All restricted shares vested but not yet delivered, as well as a deferred share award granted to our CEO, are held within this plan.

LEASE COMMITMENTS. We lease certain facilities and equipment under operating leases. Information regarding our lease expense is as follows (in thousands):



2018	$	72,327
2017	60,864
2016	55,170

Minimum future lease commitments under noncancelable lease agreements in excess of one year as of December 31, 2018, are as follows (in thousands):



2019	$	53,675
2020	47,680
2021	36,832
2022	27,644
2023	19,406
Thereafter	81,465
Total	$	266,702

In addition to minimum lease payments, we are typically responsible under our lease agreements to pay our pro rata share of maintenance expenses, common charges, and real estate taxes of the buildings in which we lease space.

LITIGATION. We are not subject to any pending or threatened litigation other than routine litigation arising in the ordinary course of our business operations, including certain contingent auto liability cases as of December 31, 2018. For some legal proceedings, we have accrued an amount that reflects the aggregate liability deemed probable and estimable, but this amount is not material to our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows. Because of the preliminary nature of many of these proceedings, the difficulty in ascertaining the applicable facts relating to many of these proceedings, the inconsistent treatment of claims made in many of these proceedings, and the difficulty of predicting the settlement value of many of these proceedings, we are not able to estimate an amount or range of any reasonably possible additional losses. However, based upon our historical experience, the resolution of these proceedings is not expected to have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

ACQUISITIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Business Combinations [Abstract]

ACQUISITIONS

On August 31, 2017, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Milgram & Company Ltd. ("Milgram") for the purpose of expanding our global presence and bringing additional capabilities and expertise to our portfolio. Total purchase consideration, net of cash acquired, was $47.3 million, which was paid in cash. We used advances under the Credit Agreement to fund part of the cash consideration.

Identifiable intangible assets and estimated useful lives are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated Life (years)
Customer relationships	7	$	14,004

There was $28.3 million of goodwill recorded related to the acquisition of Milgram. The Milgram goodwill is a result of acquiring and retaining the Milgram existing workforce and expected synergies from integrating its business into ours. Purchase accounting is considered final. No goodwill was recognized for Canadian tax purposes from the acquisition. The results of operations of Milgram have been included in our consolidated financial statements since September 1, 2017. Pro forma financial information for prior periods is not presented because we believe the acquisition to be not material to our consolidated results.

On September 30, 2016, we acquired all of the outstanding stock of APC Logistics (“APC”) for the purpose of expanding our global presence and bringing additional capabilities and expertise to the company’s portfolio. Total purchase consideration was $229.4 million, which was paid in cash. We used advances under the Credit Agreement to fund part of the cash consideration. The following is a summary of the allocation of purchase price consideration to the estimated fair value of net assets for the acquisition of APC (in thousands):



Cash and cash equivalents	$	10,181
Receivables	37,190
Other current assets	2,609
Property and equipment	1,696
Identifiable intangible assets	78,842
Goodwill	132,797
Other noncurrent assets	70
Deferred tax assets	814
Total assets	264,199

Accounts payable	(22,147		)
Accrued expenses	(12,700		)
Net assets acquired	$	229,352

Identifiable intangible assets and estimated useful lives are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated Life (years)
Customer relationships	7	$	78,842

The APC goodwill is a result of acquiring and retaining the APC existing workforce and expected synergies from integrating their business into ours. Purchase accounting is considered final. The goodwill will not be deductible for tax purposes. The results of operations of APC have been included in our consolidated financial statements since October 1, 2016. Pro forma financial information for prior periods is not presented because we believe the acquisition to be not material to our consolidated results.

SEGMENT REPORTING

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

SEGMENT REPORTING

Our reportable segments are based on our method of internal reporting, which generally segregates the segments by service line and the primary services they provide to our customers. We identify three reportable segments as follows:


•	North American Surface Transportation: NAST provides freight transportation services across North America through a network of offices in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The primary services provided by NAST include truckload, LTL, and intermodal.


•	Global Forwarding: Global Forwarding provides global logistics services through an international network of offices in North America, Asia, Europe, Oceania, and South America and also contracts with independent agents worldwide. The primary services provided by Global Forwarding include ocean freight services, air freight services, and customs brokerage.

•

Robinson Fresh: Robinson Fresh provides sourcing services under the trade name of Robinson Fresh. Our sourcing services primarily include the buying, selling, and marketing of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other perishable items. Robinson Fresh sources products from around the world and has a physical presence in North America, Europe, and South America. This segment often provides the logistics and transportation of the products they sell, in addition to temperature controlled transportation services for its customers.

•

All Other and Corporate: All Other and Corporate includes our Managed Services segment, as well as Other Surface Transportation outside of North America and other miscellaneous revenues and unallocated corporate expenses. Managed Services provides Transportation Management Services, or Managed TMS. Other Surface Transportation revenues are primarily earned by Europe Surface Transportation. Europe Surface Transportation provides services similar to NAST across Europe.

The internal reporting of segments is defined, based in part, on the reporting and review process used by our chief operating decision maker, our Chief Executive Officer. The accounting policies of our reporting segments are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. Segment information as of, and for the years ended, December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 is as follows (dollars in thousands):



Twelve months ended December 31, 2018
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate			Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628		$	—		$	16,631,172
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	545,177		48,343		211,286		20,951			(825,757		)	—
Total Revenues	$	11,793,077	$	2,536,087	$	2,480,186	$	647,579		$	(825,757	)	$	16,631,172

Net Revenues	$	1,788,498	$	543,906	$	234,046	$	138,785		$	—		$	2,705,235
Income (loss) from operations	773,846		91,626		59,735		(13,124		)	—			912,083
Depreciation and amortization	24,510		35,148		4,506		32,565			—			96,729
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,345,455		969,736		401,561		710,660			—			4,427,412
Average headcount	6,938		4,711		903		2,652			—			15,204



Twelve months ended December 31, 2017
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	9,728,810	$	2,140,987	$	2,415,740	$	583,843	$	—		$	14,869,380
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	462,390		30,198		167,292		18,174		(678,054		)	—
Total Revenues	$	10,191,200	$	2,171,185	$	2,583,032	$	602,017	$	(678,054	)	$	14,869,380

Net Revenues	$	1,525,064	$	485,280	$	226,059	$	131,647	$	—		$	2,368,050
Income from operations	628,110		91,842		53,374		1,793		—			775,119
Depreciation and amortization	23,230		33,308		4,730		31,709		—			92,977
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,277,252		821,182		434,080		703,320		—			4,235,834
Average headcount	6,907		4,310		957		2,513		—			14,687

__________________________

⁽¹⁾Intersegment revenues represent the sales between our segments and are eliminated to reconcile to our consolidated results.

⁽²⁾ All cash and cash equivalents and certain owned properties are included in All Other and Corporate.



Twelve months ended December 31, 2016
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	8,737,716	$	1,574,686	$	2,344,131	$	487,880	$	—		$	13,144,413
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	298,438		30,311		119,403		2,211		(450,363		)	—
Total Revenues	$	9,036,154	$	1,604,997	$	2,463,534	$	490,091	$	(450,363	)	$	13,144,413

Net Revenues	$	1,524,355	$	397,537	$	234,794	$	120,842	$	—		$	2,277,528
Income from operations	674,436		80,931		75,757		6,407		—			837,531
Depreciation and amortization	22,126		23,099		3,782		25,662		—			74,669
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,088,611		703,741		376,654		518,752		—			3,687,758
Average headcount	6,773		3,673		942		2,282		—			13,670

__________________________

⁽¹⁾Intersegment revenues represent the sales between our segments and are eliminated to reconcile to our consolidated results.

⁽²⁾ All cash and cash equivalents and certain owned properties are included in All Other and Corporate.

The following table presents our total revenues (based on location of the customer) and long-lived assets (including intangible and other assets) by geographic regions (in thousands):



	For the year ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Total revenues
United States	$	14,370,454	$	12,865,087	$	11,749,602
Other locations	2,260,718		2,004,293		1,394,811
Total revenues	$	16,631,172	$	14,869,380	$	13,144,413



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Long-lived assets
United States	$	321,766	$	335,072	$	348,299
Other locations	83,657		107,140		96,311
Total long-lived assets	$	405,423	$	442,212	$	444,610

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS

In 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The standard outlines a five-step model whereby revenue is recognized as performance obligations within a customer contract are satisfied. The standard also requires new and expanded disclosures regarding revenue recognition. We adopted the new standard on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective transition method. We recognized the cumulative effect of initially applying the new revenue standard as an adjustment to the January 1, 2018 opening balance of retained earnings. The comparative information for previous periods has not been restated and continues to be reported under ASC 605, Revenue Recognition.

The cumulative effect of the changes made to our January 1, 2018 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of ASU 2014-09 were as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Balance at December 31, 2017		Adjustments			Balance at January 1, 2018
Balance Sheet
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$	2,113,930	$	(101,718	)	$	2,012,212
Contract assets	—		147,764			147,764
Prepaid expenses and other	63,116		4,021			67,137

Liabilities:
Accounts payable	1,000,305		(56,493		)	943,812
Accrued expenses - compensation	105,316		1,964			107,280
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	—		94,811			94,811
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	58,229		(2,752		)	55,477
Deferred tax liabilities	45,355		3,298			48,653

Equity:
Retained earnings	3,437,093		9,239			3,446,332

The impact of adoption of ASU 2014-09 on our consolidated statements of operations and consolidated balance sheets were as follows (dollars in thousands). The adoption of ASU 2014-09 did not have a material impact upon our consolidated statements of cash flows.



	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018
	As reported			Balances without adoption of ASU 2014-09			Effect of change higher / (lower)
Income Statement
Revenues:
Transportation	$	15,515,921		$	15,462,328		$	53,593
Sourcing ⁽¹⁾	1,115,251			1,235,713			(120,462		)
Total revenues	16,631,172			16,698,041			(66,869		)
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	12,922,177			12,875,875			46,302
Purchased products sourced for resale ⁽¹⁾	1,003,760			1,124,222			(120,462		)
Personnel expenses	1,343,542			1,343,159			383
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	449,610			449,610			—
Total costs and expenses	15,719,089			15,792,866			(73,777		)
Income from operations	912,083			905,175			6,908
Interest and other expense	(31,810		)	(31,810		)	—
Income before provision for income taxes	880,273			873,365			6,908
Provision for income taxes	215,768			213,882			1,886
Net income	$	664,505		$	659,483		$	5,022

⁽¹⁾We have identified certain customer contracts in our sourcing managed procurement business that changed from a principal to an agent relationship under the new standard. This change resulted in these contracts being recognized at the net amount we charge our customers but had no impact on income from operations.



	As of December 31, 2018
	As reported		Balances without adoption of ASU 2014-09		Effect of change higher / (lower)
Balance Sheet
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$	2,162,438	$	2,223,632	$	(61,194	)
Contract assets	159,635		—		159,635
Prepaid expenses and other	52,386		50,683		1,703

Liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	971,023	$	1,009,758	$	(38,735	)
Accrued expenses - compensation	153,626		151,280		2,346
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820		—		119,820
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	63,410		66,116		(2,706		)
Deferred tax liabilities	35,757		30,599		5,158

Equity:
Retained earnings	$	3,845,593	$	3,831,332	$	14,261

We typically do not receive consideration and amounts are not due from our customer prior to the completion of our performance obligations and as such contract liabilities as of December 31, 2018, and revenue recognized in the twelve months ended months ended December 31, 2018, resulting from contract liabilities were not significant. Contract assets and accrued expenses - transportation expense fluctuate from period to period primarily based upon shipments in-transit at period end.

A summary of our total revenues disaggregated by major service line and timing of revenue recognition is presented below for each of our reportable segments for the twelve months ended months ended December 31, 2018, as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Total
Major service lines:
Transportation and logistics services	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	1,153,649	$	626,628	$	15,515,921
Sourcing	—		—		1,115,251		—		1,115,251
Total	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628	$	16,631,172

Timing of revenue recognition:
Performance obligations completed over time	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	1,153,649	$	626,628	$	15,515,921
Performance obligations completed at a point in time	—		—		1,115,251		—		1,115,251
Total	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628	$	16,631,172

Approximately 91 percent of our total revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 are attributable to arranging for the transportation of our customers’ freight for which we transfer control and satisfy our performance obligation over the requisite transit period. A days in transit output method is used to measure the progress of our performance as of the reporting date. We determine the transit period based upon the departure date and the delivery date, which may be estimated if delivery has not occurred as of the reporting date. Determining the transit period and how much of it has been completed as of the reporting date may require management to make judgments that affect the timing of revenue recognized. We have determined that revenue recognition over the transit period provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of goods and services to our customer as our obligation is performed over the transit period. The transaction price for our performance obligation under these arrangements is generally fixed and readily determinable upon contract inception and is not contingent upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of another event.

Approximately seven percent of our total revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 are attributable to buying, selling, and/or marketing of produce including fresh fruits, vegetables, and other value-added perishable items. Of these transactions, nearly all of our gross revenues are recognized at a point in time upon completion of our performance obligation, which is generally when the produce is received by our customer. The transaction price for our performance obligation under these arrangements is generally fixed and readily determinable upon contract inception and is not contingent upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of another event.

Approximately two percent of our total revenues for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 are attributable to value-added logistics services, such as customs brokerage, fee-based managed services, warehousing services, small parcel, and supply chain consulting and optimization services. Of these services, nearly all are recognized over time as we complete our performance obligation. Transaction price is determined and allocated to these performance obligations at their fixed fee or agreed upon rate multiplied by their associated measure of progress, which may be transactional volumes, labor hours, or time elapsed.

Practical Expedients - Upon the adoption of ASU 2014-09, we have determined that we qualify for certain practical expedients to facilitate the adoption of the standard. We have elected to expense incremental costs of obtaining customer contracts (i.e., sales commissions) due to the short duration of our arrangements as the amortization period of such amounts is expected to be less than one year. These amounts are included within personnel expenses in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income. In addition, we do not disclose the aggregate amount of transaction price allocated to performance obligations that are unsatisfied as of the end of the period as our contracts have an expected length of one year or less. Finally, for certain of our performance obligations such as fee-based managed services, supply chain consulting and optimization services, and warehousing services we have recognized revenue in the amount for which we have the right to invoice our customer as we have determined this amount corresponds directly with the value provided to the customer for our performance completed to date.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates - We have updated our revenue recognition critical accounting policy to reflect the adoption of ASU 2014-09.

CHANGES IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS	12 Months Ended
CHANGES IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS	Dec. 31, 2018
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
CHANGES IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS	CHANGES IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS Accumulated other comprehensive loss is included in the Stockholders’ investment on our consolidated balance sheets. The recorded balance at December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, was $71.9 million and $18.5 million, respectively, and is comprised solely of foreign currency adjustments.

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS	12 Months Ended
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS	Dec. 31, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles [Abstract]
RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS	RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and in August 2015, issued ASU 2015-14, which amended the standard as to its effective date. The new comprehensive revenue recognition standard supersedes all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The standard’s core principle is that a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard requires more detailed disclosures to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. We adopted this new standard effective January 1, 2018, under the modified retrospective transition method applied to contracts that were not completed as of the date of initial application resulting in a $9.2 million cumulative adjustment to retained earnings. We have updated our revenue recognition critical accounting policy due to the adoption of this standard and expanded the summary of significant accounting policies included in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, as a result of the adoption. The adoption of this standard changed the timing of revenue recognition for our transportation businesses from at delivery to over the transit period as our performance obligations are completed. Due to the short transit period of many of our performance obligations, this change did not have a material impact on our results of operations or cash flows. The new standard expanded our existing revenue recognition disclosures upon adoption. In addition, we have identified certain customer contracts in our sourcing business that changed from a principal to an agent relationship under the new standard. This change resulted in these contracts being recognized at the net amount we charge our customers but had no impact on income from operations. The expanded disclosures required by ASU 2014-09 have been included in Note 10, Revenue Recognition. In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. This update amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements. The ASU provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting under Topic 718. We adopted this new standard effective January 1, 2018. The amendments in this update will be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after January 1, 2018. The future impact of ASU 2017-09 will depend on the nature of future stock award modifications. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40). This update aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. We adopted this new standard in 2018, using a prospective approach. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This update requires a lessee to recognize on the balance sheet a liability to make lease payments and a corresponding right-of-use asset. The guidance also requires certain qualitative and quantitative disclosures about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. This update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018, which will require us to adopt these provisions on January 1, 2019. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which provides another transition method no longer requiring application to previously reported periods. Therefore, prior period balances will not be restated. We have taken the necessary steps to be compliant as well as designed the necessary internal controls to facilitate the adoption of the new standard. We have obligations under lease agreements for facilities and equipment, which are classified as operating leases under both the existing and new lease standard. We have adopted Topic 842 effective January 1, 2019, by recognizing right-of-use assets and lease liabilities of approximately $265.4 million and $273.3 million, respectively. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a significant impact on our consolidated results of operations. In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects From Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which amends existing guidance for reporting comprehensive income to reflect changes resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("Tax Act"). The amendment provides the option to reclassify stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act within accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) to retained earnings. New disclosures will be required upon adoption, including the accounting policy for releasing income tax effects from AOCI, whether reclassification of stranded income tax effects is elected, and information about other income tax effect reclassifications. The amendment will become effective for us on January 1, 2019. We do not expect this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (UNAUDITED)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (UNAUDITED)

Our unaudited results of operations for each of the quarters in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, are summarized below (in thousands, except per share data).



2018	March 31 ⁽¹⁾		June 30 ⁽¹⁾		September 30⁽¹⁾		December 31 ⁽¹⁾
Revenues:
Transportation	$	3,637,640	$	3,953,139	$	4,028,392	$	3,896,750
Sourcing	287,687		322,898		263,508		241,158
Total revenues	3,925,327		4,276,037		4,291,900		4,137,908
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	3,041,602		3,313,196		3,359,520		3,207,859
Purchased products sourced for resale	257,800		291,358		238,336		216,266
Personnel expenses	328,297		340,630		335,299		339,316
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	106,043		111,845		112,772		118,950
Total costs and expenses	3,733,742		4,057,029		4,045,927		3,882,391
Income from operations	191,585		219,008		245,973		255,517
Net income	$	142,297	$	159,163	$	175,895	$	187,150
Basic net income per share	$	1.02	$	1.14	$	1.27	$	1.36
Diluted net income per share	$	1.01	$	1.13	$	1.25	$	1.34
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	140,032		139,464		138,797		137,797
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards	1,238		1,147		1,363		1,385
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	141,270		140,611		140,160		139,182

__________________________

⁽¹⁾ The adoption of ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, resulted in an increase to our net income of $2.1 million, $6.6 million, $0.5 million, and reduced our net income by $4.2 million for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, respectively, compared to the accounting standards in effect for 2017.



2017	March 31 ⁽¹⁾		June 30		September 30		December 31 ⁽²⁾
Revenues:
Transportation	$	3,102,043	$	3,319,995	$	3,433,701	$	3,647,167
Sourcing	313,082		390,023		350,750		312,619
Total revenues	3,415,125		3,710,018		3,784,451		3,959,786
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	2,563,885		2,781,355		2,869,616		3,042,434
Purchased products sourced for resale	282,674		354,874		320,989		285,503
Personnel expenses	290,504		284,220		293,204		311,599
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	90,104		107,749		106,177		109,374
Total costs and expenses	3,227,167		3,528,198		3,589,986		3,748,910
Income from operations	187,958		181,820		194,465		210,876
Net income	$	122,080	$	111,071	$	119,186	$	152,556
Basic net income per share	$	0.86	$	0.79	$	0.85	$	1.09
Diluted net income per share	$	0.86	$	0.78	$	0.85	$	1.08
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	141,484		141,061		140,422		139,572
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards	374		526		600		1,152
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	141,858		141,587		141,022		140,724

__________________________

⁽¹⁾ Our provision for income taxes decreased in the first quarter of 2017 by $13.7 million due to our adoption of ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718).

⁽²⁾ Our provision for income taxes decreased in the fourth quarter by $19.7 million due to the benefit of deductions under section 199 of the Internal Revenue Code and $12.1 million due to the impact of the Tax Act.

SCHEDULE II. VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

SEC Schedule, 12-09, Valuation and Qualifying Accounts [Abstract]

SCHEDULE II. VALUTAION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

SCHEDULE II. VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

The transactions in the allowance for doubtful accounts for the years ended December 31, were as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Balance, beginning of year	$	42,409		$	39,543		$	43,455
Provision	15,634			13,489			5,136
Write-offs	(16,912		)	(10,623		)	(9,048		)
Balance, end of year	$	41,131		$	42,409		$	39,543

(b) Index to Exhibits-See Exhibit Index for a description of the documents that are filed as Exhibits to this report on Form 10-K or incorporated by reference herein. Any document incorporated by reference is identified by a parenthetical referencing the SEC filing which included the document. We will furnish a copy of any Exhibit at no cost to a security holder upon request.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

BASIS OF PRESENTATION. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and our subsidiaries (“the company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) are a global provider of transportation services and logistics solutions through a network of offices operating in North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South America. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. and our majority owned and controlled subsidiaries. Our minority interests in subsidiaries are not significant. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements.

USE OF ESTIMATES

USE OF ESTIMATES. The preparation of financial statements, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates have been prepared on the basis of the most current and best information, and our actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

REVENUE RECOGNITION

REVENUE RECOGNITION. At contract inception, we assess the goods and services promised in our contracts with customers and identify our performance obligations to provide distinct goods and services to our customers. We have determined that the following distinct goods and services represent our primary performance obligations.

Transportation and Logistics Services - As a third party logistics provider, our primary performance obligation under our customer contracts is to utilize our relationships with a wide variety of transportation companies to efficiently and cost-effectively transport our customers’ freight. Revenue is recognized for these performance obligations as they are satisfied over the contract term, which generally represents the transit period. The transit period can vary based upon the method of transport, generally a couple days for over the road, rail, and air transportation, or several weeks in the case of an ocean shipment. Determining the transit period and how much of it has been completed as of the reporting date may require management to make judgments that affect the timing of revenue recognized. When the customers’ freight reaches its intended destination our performance obligation is complete. Pricing for our services is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

We also provide certain value-added logistics services, such as customs brokerage, fee-based managed services, warehousing services, small parcel, and supply chain consulting and optimization services. These services may include one or more performance obligations which are generally satisfied over the service period as we perform our obligations. The service period may be a very short duration, in the case of customs brokerage and small parcel, or it may be longer in the case of warehousing, managed services and supply chain consulting and optimization services. Pricing for our services is established in the customer contract and is dependent upon the specific needs of the customer but may be agreed upon at a fixed fee per transaction, labor hour, or service period. Payment is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

Sourcing Services - We contract with grocery retailers, restaurants, foodservice distributors, and produce wholesalers to provide sourcing services under the trade name Robinson Fresh. Our primary service obligation under these contracts is the buying, selling, and/or marketing of produce including fresh fruits, vegetables, and other value-added perishable items. Revenue is recognized when our performance obligations under these contracts is satisfied at a point in time, generally when the produce is received by our customer. Pricing under these contracts is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

In many cases, as additional performance obligations, we contract to arrange logistics and transportation of the products we buy, sell, and/or market. These performance obligations are satisfied over the contract term consistent with our other transportation and logistics services. The contract period is typically less than one year. Pricing for our services is generally a fixed amount and is typically due within 30 days upon completion of our performance obligation.

Total revenues represent the total dollar value of revenue recognized from contracts with customers for the goods and services we provide. Substantially all of our revenue is attributable to contracts with our customers. Our net revenues are our total revenues less purchased transportation and related services, including contracted motor carrier, rail, ocean, air, and other costs, and the purchase price and services related to the products we source. Most transactions in our transportation and sourcing businesses are recorded at the gross amount we charge our customers for the service we provide and goods we sell. In these transactions, we are primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the specified good or service to our customer and we have discretion in establishing the price for the specified good or service. Additionally, in our sourcing business, in some cases we take inventory risk before the specified good has been transferred to our customer. Customs brokerage, managed services, freight forwarding, and sourcing managed procurement transactions are recorded at the net amount we charge our customers for the service we provide because many of the factors stated above are not present.

CONTRACT ASSETS

CONTRACT ASSETS. Contract assets represent amounts for which we have the right to consideration for the services we have provided while a shipment is still in-transit but for which we have not yet completed our performance obligation or have not yet invoiced our customer. Upon completion of our performance obligations, which can vary in duration based upon the method of transport, and billing our customer these amounts become classified within accounts receivable and are then typically due within 30 days.

ACCRUED TRANSPORTATION EXPENSE

ACCRUED TRANSPORTATION EXPENSE. Accrued transportation expense represents amounts we owe to vendors, primarily transportation providers, for the services they have provided while a shipment is still in-transit as of the reporting date.

ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS

ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS. Accounts receivable are reduced by an allowance for amounts that may become uncollectible in the future. We continuously monitor payments from our customers and maintain a provision for uncollectible accounts based upon our customer aging trends, historical loss experience, and any specific customer collection issues that we have identified.

FOREIGN CURRENCY

FOREIGN CURRENCY. Most balance sheet accounts of foreign subsidiaries are translated or remeasured at the current exchange rate as of the end of the year. Statement of operations items are translated at average exchange rates during the year. We have asserted that we will indefinitely reinvest earnings of foreign subsidiaries to support expansion of our international businesses and accordingly translation adjustments are recorded gross of any related income tax effects.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of bank deposits and highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less from the time of purchase.

PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER

PREPAID EXPENSES AND OTHER. Prepaid expenses and other include such items as prepaid rent, software maintenance contracts, insurance premiums, other prepaid operating expenses, and inventories, consisting primarily of produce and related products held for resale.

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT. Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Maintenance and repair expenditures are charged to expense as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated lives of the assets. Amortization of leasehold improvements is computed over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the improvements.

GOODWILL

GOODWILL. Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquired businesses over the net of the fair value of identifiable tangible net assets and identifiable intangible assets purchased and liabilities assumed. Goodwill is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level (operating segment or one level below an operating segment) on an annual basis (November 30 for us) and between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of a reporting unit below its carrying value.

Goodwill is tested at least annually for impairment on November 30, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset might be impaired. We first perform a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units is less than their respective carrying value (“Step Zero Analysis”). If the Step Zero Analysis indicates it is more likely than not that the fair value of our reporting units is less than their respective carrying value, an additional impairment assessment is performed (“Step One Analysis”). Based on our Step Zero Analysis, we determined that the more likely than not criteria had not been met, and therefore a Step 1 Analysis was not required.

OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS

OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS. Other intangible assets include definite-lived customer lists, non-competition agreements, and indefinite-lived trademarks. The definite-lived intangible assets are being amortized using the straight-line method over their estimated lives, ranging from five to eight years. Definite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. The indefinite-lived trademarks are not amortized. Indefinite-lived intangible assets are evaluated for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable, or annually, at a minimum.

OTHER ASSETS

OTHER ASSETS. Other assets consist primarily of purchased and internally developed software, and the investments related to our nonqualified deferred compensation plan. We amortize software using the straight-line method over three years.

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES. Income taxes are accounted for using the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted rates.

Annual tax provisions include amounts considered sufficient to pay assessments that may result from examination of prior year tax returns; however, the amount ultimately paid upon resolution of issues raised may differ from the amounts accrued.

The financial statement benefits of an uncertain income tax position are recognized when more likely than not, based on the technical merits, the position will be sustained upon examination. Unrecognized tax benefits are, more likely than not, owed to a taxing authority, and the amount of the contingency can be reasonably estimated. Uncertain income tax positions are included in “Accrued income taxes” or “Noncurrent income taxes payable” in the consolidated balance sheets.

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS). Comprehensive income (loss) consists of foreign currency translation adjustments. It is presented on our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income gross of related income tax effects.

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION. We issue stock awards, including stock options, performance shares, and restricted stock units, to key employees and outside directors. In general, the awards vest over five years, either based on the company’s earnings growth or the passage of time. The related compensation expense for each award is recognized over the appropriate vesting period. The fair value of each share-based payment award is established on the date of grant. For grants of shares and restricted stock units, the fair value is established based on the market price on the date of the grant, discounted for post-vesting holding restrictions. The discounts on outstanding grants vary from 15 percent to 21 percent and are calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model-protective put method. Changes in measured stock volatility and interest rates are the primary reason for changes in the discount.

For grants of options, we use the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of share-based payment awards. The determination of the fair value of share-based awards is affected by our stock price and a number of assumptions, including expected volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividends.

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Accounting guidance on fair value measurements for certain financial assets and liabilities requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:


•	Level 1-Quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.


•	Level 2-Observable market-based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data.


•	Level 3-Unobservable inputs reflecting the reporting entity’s own assumptions or external inputs from inactive markets.

A financial asset or liability’s classification within the hierarchy is determined based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRNOUNCEMENTS

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and in August 2015, issued ASU 2015-14, which amended the standard as to its effective date. The new comprehensive revenue recognition standard supersedes all existing revenue recognition guidance under U.S. GAAP. The standard’s core principle is that a company will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The standard requires more detailed disclosures to enable users of financial statements to understand the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. We adopted this new standard effective January 1, 2018, under the modified retrospective transition method applied to contracts that were not completed as of the date of initial application resulting in a $9.2 million cumulative adjustment to retained earnings.

We have updated our revenue recognition critical accounting policy due to the adoption of this standard and expanded the summary of significant accounting policies included in Note 1, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, as a result of the adoption. The adoption of this standard changed the timing of revenue recognition for our transportation businesses from at delivery to over the transit period as our performance obligations are completed. Due to the short transit period of many of our performance obligations, this change did not have a material impact on our results of operations or cash flows.

The new standard expanded our existing revenue recognition disclosures upon adoption. In addition, we have identified certain customer contracts in our sourcing business that changed from a principal to an agent relationship under the new standard. This change resulted in these contracts being recognized at the net amount we charge our customers but had no impact on income from operations. The expanded disclosures required by ASU 2014-09 have been included in Note 10, Revenue Recognition.

In May 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Scope of Modification Accounting. This update amends the scope of modification accounting for share-based payment arrangements. The ASU provides guidance on the types of changes to the terms or conditions of share-based payment awards to which an entity would be required to apply modification accounting under Topic 718. We adopted this new standard effective January 1, 2018. The amendments in this update will be applied prospectively to awards modified on or after January 1, 2018. The future impact of ASU 2017-09 will depend on the nature of future stock award modifications.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40). This update aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software. We adopted this new standard in 2018, using a prospective approach. The adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). This update requires a lessee to recognize on the balance sheet a liability to make lease payments and a corresponding right-of-use asset. The guidance also requires certain qualitative and quantitative disclosures about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. This update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018, which will require us to adopt these provisions on January 1, 2019. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which provides another transition method no longer requiring application to previously reported periods. Therefore, prior period balances will not be restated. We have taken the necessary steps to be compliant as well as designed the necessary internal controls to facilitate the adoption of the new standard.

We have obligations under lease agreements for facilities and equipment, which are classified as operating leases under both the existing and new lease standard. We have adopted Topic 842 effective January 1, 2019, by recognizing right-of-use assets and lease liabilities of approximately $265.4 million and $273.3 million, respectively. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a significant impact on our consolidated results of operations.

In February 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-02, Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects From Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income, which amends existing guidance for reporting comprehensive income to reflect changes resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("Tax Act"). The amendment provides the option to reclassify stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act within accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) to retained earnings. New disclosures will be required upon adoption, including the accounting policy for releasing income tax effects from AOCI, whether reclassification of stranded income tax effects is elected, and information about other income tax effect reclassifications. The amendment will become effective for us on January 1, 2019. We do not expect this standard to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Schedule of Property and Equipment and Depreciation Expense

We recognized the following depreciation expense (in thousands):



2018	$	45,155
2017	42,817
2016	36,212

A summary of our property and equipment as of December 31, is as follows (in thousands):



	Useful Lives (in years)	2018			2017
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment	3 to 12	$	272,733		$	277,014
Buildings	3 to 30	130,959			130,712
Corporate aircraft	10	11,337			11,334
Leasehold improvements	3 to 15	58,929			50,616
Land		23,648			23,658
Construction in progress		1,241			4,575
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(270,546		)	(267,583		)
Net property and equipment		$	228,301		$	230,326

Schedule of Amortization Expense of Software

We recognized the following amortization expense of purchased and internally developed software (in thousands):



2018	$	14,688
2017	13,887
2016	11,404

Schedule of Other Assets, Noncurrent

A summary of our purchased and internally developed software as of December 31, is as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Purchased software	$	32,460		$	25,805
Internally developed software	68,853			55,165
Less accumulated amortization	(66,638		)	(54,194		)
Net software	$	34,675		$	26,776

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Goodwill

The change in the carrying amount of goodwill is as follows (in thousands):



	NAST			Global Forwarding			Robinson Fresh			All Other and Corporate			Total
December 31, 2016 balance	$	907,230		$	159,050		$	139,558		$	26,958		$	1,232,796
Acquisitions	3,673			24,918			—			—			28,591
Foreign currency translation	10,583			1,905			1,627			314			14,429
December 31, 2017 balance	921,486			185,873			141,185			27,272			1,275,816
Acquisitions	(40		)	33			—			—			(7		)
Foreign currency translation	(11,038		)	(3,877		)	(1,653		)	(319		)	(16,887		)
December 31, 2018 balance	$	910,408		$	182,029		$	139,532		$	26,953		$	1,258,922

Schedule of Intangible Assets

Identifiable intangible assets consisted of the following at December 31 (in thousands):



	2018							2017
	Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net		Cost		Accumulated Amortization			Net
Finite-lived intangibles
Customer relationships	$	254,293	$	(156,006	)	$	98,287	$	263,093	$	(122,103	)	$	140,990
Non-competition agreements	300		(240		)	60		300		(180		)	120
Total finite-lived intangibles	254,593		(156,246		)	98,347		263,393		(122,283		)	141,110
Indefinite-lived intangibles
Trademarks	10,475		—			10,475		10,475		—			10,475
Total intangibles	$	265,068	$	(156,246	)	$	108,822	$	273,868	$	(122,283	)	$	151,585

Schedule of Amortization Expense

Amortization expense for other intangible assets was (in thousands):



2018	$	36,886
2017	36,273
2016	27,053

Schedule of Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Future Amortization Expense

Finite-lived intangible assets, by reportable segment, as of December 31, 2018, will be amortized over their remaining lives as follows (in thousands):



	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Total
2019	$	7,800	$	28,413	$	—	$	—	$	36,213
2020	240		25,710		—		—		25,950
2021	240		12,188		—		—		12,428
2022	240		12,188		—		—		12,428
2023	240		9,595		—		—		9,835
Thereafter	219		1,274		—		—		1,493
Total									$	98,347

FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Debt Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Components of Short-term and Long-term Debt

The components of our short-term and long-term debt and the associated interest rates were as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Average interest rate as of					Carrying value as of
	December 31, 2018		December 31, 2017		Maturity	December 31, 2018			December 31, 2017
Revolving credit facility	3.64	%	2.70	%	October 2023	$	5,000		$	715,000
Senior Notes, Series A	3.97	%	3.97	%	August 2023	175,000			175,000
Senior Notes, Series B	4.26	%	4.26	%	August 2028	150,000			150,000
Senior Notes, Series C	4.60	%	4.60	%	August 2033	175,000			175,000
Receivables securitization facility ⁽¹⁾	3.15	%	2.00	%	December 2020	249,744			250,000
Senior Notes ⁽¹⁾	4.20	%	N/A		April 2028	591,608			—
Total debt						1,346,352			1,465,000
Less: Current maturities and short-term borrowing						(5,000		)	(715,000		)
Long-term debt						$	1,341,352		$	750,000

⁽¹⁾Net of unamortized discounts and issuance costs.

INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Provision for Income Taxes

Income before provision for income taxes consisted of (in thousands):



	2018		2017		2016
Domestic	$	738,927	$	638,718	$	710,931
Foreign	141,346		89,745		101,019
Total	$	880,273	$	728,463	$	811,950

Summary of Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, is as follows (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period	$	31,806		$	12,268		$	13,271
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	—			4,014			—
Additions for tax positions of prior years	1,662			16,713			55
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(263		)	—			(211		)
Lapse in statute of limitations	(1,394		)	(1,189		)	(847		)
Settlements	(296		)	—			—
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of the period	$	31,515		$	31,806		$	12,268

Schedule of Components of Provision for Income Taxes

The components of the provision for income taxes consist of the following for the years ended December 31 (in thousands):



	2018			2017			2016
Tax provision:
Federal	$	152,627		$	189,708		$	222,685
State	38,626			29,320			31,786
Foreign	39,830			32,638			29,086
	231,083			251,666			283,557
Deferred provision (benefit):
Federal	(11,969		)	(21,389		)	13,936
State	(3,176		)	(3,048		)	1,986
Foreign	(170		)	(3,659		)	(913		)
	(15,315		)	(28,096		)	15,009
Total provision	$	215,768		$	223,570		$	298,566

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation

A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes using the statutory federal income tax rate to our effective income tax rate for the years ended December 31, is as follows:



	2018		2017		2016
Federal statutory rate	21.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	3.3		2.6		2.7
Tax Act impact	0.4		(1.7	)	—
Section 199 deduction	—		(2.8	)	—
Share-based payment awards	(0.7	)	(1.9	)	—
Other	0.5		(0.5	)	(0.9	)
Effective income tax rate	24.5	%	30.7	%	36.8	%

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

Deferred tax assets (liabilities) are comprised of the following at December 31 (in thousands):



	2018			2017
Deferred tax assets:
Compensation	$	57,666		$	52,538
Accrued expenses	27,683			3,155
Receivables	8,093			8,819
Other	6,004			4,737
Deferred tax liabilities:
Intangible assets	(77,059		)	(81,932		)
Accrued revenue	(19,571		)	—
Prepaid assets	(5,798		)	(8,247		)
Long-lived assets	(15,615		)	(15,465		)
Other	(7,167		)	(2,090		)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$	(25,764	)	$	(38,485	)

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]

Schedule of Stock-Based Compensation Expense

A summary of our total compensation expense recognized in our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income for stock-based compensation is as follows (in thousands):



	2018		2017		2016
Stock options	$	23,374	$	10,109	$	9,178
Stock awards	61,826		29,217		25,912
Company expense on ESPP discount	2,591		2,479		2,475
Total stock-based compensation expense	$	87,791	$	41,805	$	37,565

Schedule of Stock Option Activity

The following schedule summarizes stock option activity in the plans. All outstanding unvested options as of December 31, 2018, relate to performance-based grants from 2014 and time-based grants from 2015 through 2018.



	Options		Weighted Average Exercise Price		Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)		Average Remaining Life (years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2017	7,382,072		$	71.58	$	129,295	7.6
Grants	1,074,665		88.92
Exercised	(578,467	)	65.13
Terminated	(55,756	)	73.92
Outstanding at December 31, 2018	7,822,514		$	74.42	$	85,222	7.2

Vested at December 31, 2018	4,191,118		$	68.35			5.9
Exercisable at December 31, 2018	4,191,118		$	68.35			5.9

Schedule of Intrinsic Value of Options Exercised

Information on the intrinsic value of options exercised is as follows (in thousands):



2018	$	16,209
2017	6,026
2016	981

Schedule of Performance Based Options by Vesting Period

The following table summarizes performance based options by vesting period:

First Vesting Date

Last Vesting Date

Options
Granted, Net of
Forfeitures

Weighted
Average Grant
Date Fair Value

Unvested Options

December 31, 2015

December 31, 2019

1,253,443

$

14.17

136,781

Schedule of Unvested Stock Option Grants

The following table summarizes these unvested stock option grants as of December 31, 2018:



First Vesting Date	Last Vesting Date	Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value		Unvested Options
December 31, 2016	December 31, 2020	1,421,933	$	12.66	561,579
December 31, 2017	December 31, 2021	1,246,480	12.60		735,744
December 31, 2018	December 31, 2022	1,470,606	14.25		1,162,504
December 31, 2019	December 31, 2023	1,034,788	20.52		1,034,788
		5,173,807	$	14.67	3,494,615

Schedule of Option Pricing Model Valuation Assumptions

The fair value per option was estimated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions:



	2018 Grants			2017 Grants			2016 Grants
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate	3.1		%	2.3		%	2.1		%
Expected dividend yield	2.0		%	2.5%			2.4%
Weighted-average volatility	25%			20%			20%
Expected term (in years)	6.08			6.20			6.26
Weighted average fair value per option	$	20.52		$	14.23		$	12.60

Schedule of Performance Based Restricted Shares and Restricted Stock Units

The following table summarizes our unvested performance based restricted shares and restricted stock unit grants as of December 31, 2018:



	Number of Shares and Restricted Stock Units		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2017	1,215,459		$	61.71
Granted	340,287		74.54
Vested	(687,463	)	60.14
Forfeitures	(22,113	)	60.50
Unvested at December 31, 2018	846,170		$	68.35

The following table summarizes performance based restricted shares and restricted stock units by vesting period:



First Vesting Date	Last Vesting Date	Performance Shares and Stock Units Granted, Net of Forfeitures	Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value⁽¹⁾		Unvested Performance Shares and Restricted Stock Units
December 31, 2015	December 31, 2019	323,442	$	61.75	34,572
December 31, 2016	December 31, 2020	389,644	51.88		139,431
December 31, 2017	December 31, 2021	339,808	64.91		162,955
December 31, 2018	December 31, 2022	312,797	74.26		178,294
December 31, 2019	December 31, 2023	330,918	74.48		330,918
		1,696,609	$	64.91	846,170

________________________


⁽¹⁾	Amount shown is the weighted average grant date fair value of performance shares and restricted stock units granted, net of forfeitures.

Schedule of Unvested Restricted Share and Restricted Stock Unit Grants

The following table summarizes these unvested restricted share and restricted stock unit grants as of December 31, 2018:



	Number of Restricted Shares and Stock Units		Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2017	1,057,450		$	62.20
Granted	279,679		74.54
Vested	(324,965	)	58.46
Forfeitures	(85,472	)	62.57
Unvested at December 31, 2018	926,692		$	67.08

Schedule of Fair Value Stock Awards Vested

A summary of the fair value of full value awards vested (in thousands):



2018	$	61,826
2017	29,217
2016	25,912

Schedule of Employee Stock Purchase Plan Activity

The following is a summary of the employee stock purchase plan activity (dollar amounts in thousands):



	Shares Purchased By Employees	Aggregate Cost to Employees		Expense Recognized By the Company
2018	191,823	$	14,682	$	2,591
2017	215,613	14,048		2,479
2016	225,241	14,032		2,475

Schedule of Share Repurchase Program Activity

The activity under these authorizations is as follows (dollar amounts in thousands):



	Shares Repurchased	Total Value of Shares Repurchased
2016 Repurchases	2,467,097	$	176,676
2017 Repurchases	2,426,407	179,985
2018 Repurchases	3,319,077	303,492

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Costs of Retirement Plans

Defined contribution plan expense, including matching contributions, was approximately (in thousands):



2018	$	43,172
2017	27,530
2016	25,740

Schedule of Lease Expenses

Information regarding our lease expense is as follows (in thousands):



2018	$	72,327
2017	60,864
2016	55,170

Operating Leases of Lessee Disclosure

Minimum future lease commitments under noncancelable lease agreements in excess of one year as of December 31, 2018, are as follows (in thousands):



2019	$	53,675
2020	47,680
2021	36,832
2022	27,644
2023	19,406
Thereafter	81,465
Total	$	266,702

ACQUISITIONS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Schedule of Identifiable Intangible Assets and Useful Lives

Identifiable intangible assets and estimated useful lives are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated Life (years)
Customer relationships	7	$	14,004

Identifiable intangible assets and estimated useful lives are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated Life (years)
Customer relationships	7	$	78,842

Schedule of Allocation of Purchase Price Consideration

The following is a summary of the allocation of purchase price consideration to the estimated fair value of net assets for the acquisition of APC (in thousands):



Cash and cash equivalents	$	10,181
Receivables	37,190
Other current assets	2,609
Property and equipment	1,696
Identifiable intangible assets	78,842
Goodwill	132,797
Other noncurrent assets	70
Deferred tax assets	814
Total assets	264,199

Accounts payable	(22,147		)
Accrued expenses	(12,700		)
Net assets acquired	$	229,352

SEGMENT REPORTING (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Segment Reporting [Abstract]

Summary of Segment Information

Segment information as of, and for the years ended, December 31, 2018, 2017, and 2016 is as follows (dollars in thousands):



Twelve months ended December 31, 2018
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate			Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628		$	—		$	16,631,172
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	545,177		48,343		211,286		20,951			(825,757		)	—
Total Revenues	$	11,793,077	$	2,536,087	$	2,480,186	$	647,579		$	(825,757	)	$	16,631,172

Net Revenues	$	1,788,498	$	543,906	$	234,046	$	138,785		$	—		$	2,705,235
Income (loss) from operations	773,846		91,626		59,735		(13,124		)	—			912,083
Depreciation and amortization	24,510		35,148		4,506		32,565			—			96,729
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,345,455		969,736		401,561		710,660			—			4,427,412
Average headcount	6,938		4,711		903		2,652			—			15,204



Twelve months ended December 31, 2017
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	9,728,810	$	2,140,987	$	2,415,740	$	583,843	$	—		$	14,869,380
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	462,390		30,198		167,292		18,174		(678,054		)	—
Total Revenues	$	10,191,200	$	2,171,185	$	2,583,032	$	602,017	$	(678,054	)	$	14,869,380

Net Revenues	$	1,525,064	$	485,280	$	226,059	$	131,647	$	—		$	2,368,050
Income from operations	628,110		91,842		53,374		1,793		—			775,119
Depreciation and amortization	23,230		33,308		4,730		31,709		—			92,977
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,277,252		821,182		434,080		703,320		—			4,235,834
Average headcount	6,907		4,310		957		2,513		—			14,687

__________________________

⁽¹⁾Intersegment revenues represent the sales between our segments and are eliminated to reconcile to our consolidated results.

⁽²⁾ All cash and cash equivalents and certain owned properties are included in All Other and Corporate.



Twelve months ended December 31, 2016
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Eliminations			Consolidated
Revenues	$	8,737,716	$	1,574,686	$	2,344,131	$	487,880	$	—		$	13,144,413
Intersegment revenues ⁽¹⁾	298,438		30,311		119,403		2,211		(450,363		)	—
Total Revenues	$	9,036,154	$	1,604,997	$	2,463,534	$	490,091	$	(450,363	)	$	13,144,413

Net Revenues	$	1,524,355	$	397,537	$	234,794	$	120,842	$	—		$	2,277,528
Income from operations	674,436		80,931		75,757		6,407		—			837,531
Depreciation and amortization	22,126		23,099		3,782		25,662		—			74,669
Total assets ⁽²⁾	2,088,611		703,741		376,654		518,752		—			3,687,758
Average headcount	6,773		3,673		942		2,282		—			13,670

__________________________

⁽¹⁾Intersegment revenues represent the sales between our segments and are eliminated to reconcile to our consolidated results.

⁽²⁾ All cash and cash equivalents and certain owned properties are included in All Other and Corporate.

Schedule Of Revenues and Long Lived Assets by Geographic Regions

The following table presents our total revenues (based on location of the customer) and long-lived assets (including intangible and other assets) by geographic regions (in thousands):



	For the year ended December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Total revenues
United States	$	14,370,454	$	12,865,087	$	11,749,602
Other locations	2,260,718		2,004,293		1,394,811
Total revenues	$	16,631,172	$	14,869,380	$	13,144,413



	As of December 31,
	2018		2017		2016
Long-lived assets
United States	$	321,766	$	335,072	$	348,299
Other locations	83,657		107,140		96,311
Total long-lived assets	$	405,423	$	442,212	$	444,610

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]

Schedule of Effect of Adoption of New Accounting Standard

The cumulative effect of the changes made to our January 1, 2018 consolidated balance sheet for the adoption of ASU 2014-09 were as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Balance at December 31, 2017		Adjustments			Balance at January 1, 2018
Balance Sheet
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$	2,113,930	$	(101,718	)	$	2,012,212
Contract assets	—		147,764			147,764
Prepaid expenses and other	63,116		4,021			67,137

Liabilities:
Accounts payable	1,000,305		(56,493		)	943,812
Accrued expenses - compensation	105,316		1,964			107,280
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	—		94,811			94,811
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	58,229		(2,752		)	55,477
Deferred tax liabilities	45,355		3,298			48,653

Equity:
Retained earnings	3,437,093		9,239			3,446,332

The impact of adoption of ASU 2014-09 on our consolidated statements of operations and consolidated balance sheets were as follows (dollars in thousands). The adoption of ASU 2014-09 did not have a material impact upon our consolidated statements of cash flows.



	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018
	As reported			Balances without adoption of ASU 2014-09			Effect of change higher / (lower)
Income Statement
Revenues:
Transportation	$	15,515,921		$	15,462,328		$	53,593
Sourcing ⁽¹⁾	1,115,251			1,235,713			(120,462		)
Total revenues	16,631,172			16,698,041			(66,869		)
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	12,922,177			12,875,875			46,302
Purchased products sourced for resale ⁽¹⁾	1,003,760			1,124,222			(120,462		)
Personnel expenses	1,343,542			1,343,159			383
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	449,610			449,610			—
Total costs and expenses	15,719,089			15,792,866			(73,777		)
Income from operations	912,083			905,175			6,908
Interest and other expense	(31,810		)	(31,810		)	—
Income before provision for income taxes	880,273			873,365			6,908
Provision for income taxes	215,768			213,882			1,886
Net income	$	664,505		$	659,483		$	5,022

⁽¹⁾We have identified certain customer contracts in our sourcing managed procurement business that changed from a principal to an agent relationship under the new standard. This change resulted in these contracts being recognized at the net amount we charge our customers but had no impact on income from operations.



	As of December 31, 2018
	As reported		Balances without adoption of ASU 2014-09		Effect of change higher / (lower)
Balance Sheet
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$	2,162,438	$	2,223,632	$	(61,194	)
Contract assets	159,635		—		159,635
Prepaid expenses and other	52,386		50,683		1,703

Liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	971,023	$	1,009,758	$	(38,735	)
Accrued expenses - compensation	153,626		151,280		2,346
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820		—		119,820
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	63,410		66,116		(2,706		)
Deferred tax liabilities	35,757		30,599		5,158

Equity:
Retained earnings	$	3,845,593	$	3,831,332	$	14,261

Schedule of Total Revenues Disaggregated by Major Service Line and Timing of Recognition

A summary of our total revenues disaggregated by major service line and timing of revenue recognition is presented below for each of our reportable segments for the twelve months ended months ended December 31, 2018, as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2018
	NAST		Global Forwarding		Robinson Fresh		All Other and Corporate		Total
Major service lines:
Transportation and logistics services	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	1,153,649	$	626,628	$	15,515,921
Sourcing	—		—		1,115,251		—		1,115,251
Total	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628	$	16,631,172

Timing of revenue recognition:
Performance obligations completed over time	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	1,153,649	$	626,628	$	15,515,921
Performance obligations completed at a point in time	—		—		1,115,251		—		1,115,251
Total	$	11,247,900	$	2,487,744	$	2,268,900	$	626,628	$	16,631,172

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (UNAUDITED) (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Quarterly Financial Information

Our unaudited results of operations for each of the quarters in the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, are summarized below (in thousands, except per share data).



2018	March 31 ⁽¹⁾		June 30 ⁽¹⁾		September 30⁽¹⁾		December 31 ⁽¹⁾
Revenues:
Transportation	$	3,637,640	$	3,953,139	$	4,028,392	$	3,896,750
Sourcing	287,687		322,898		263,508		241,158
Total revenues	3,925,327		4,276,037		4,291,900		4,137,908
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	3,041,602		3,313,196		3,359,520		3,207,859
Purchased products sourced for resale	257,800		291,358		238,336		216,266
Personnel expenses	328,297		340,630		335,299		339,316
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	106,043		111,845		112,772		118,950
Total costs and expenses	3,733,742		4,057,029		4,045,927		3,882,391
Income from operations	191,585		219,008		245,973		255,517
Net income	$	142,297	$	159,163	$	175,895	$	187,150
Basic net income per share	$	1.02	$	1.14	$	1.27	$	1.36
Diluted net income per share	$	1.01	$	1.13	$	1.25	$	1.34
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	140,032		139,464		138,797		137,797
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards	1,238		1,147		1,363		1,385
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	141,270		140,611		140,160		139,182

__________________________

⁽¹⁾ The adoption of ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, resulted in an increase to our net income of $2.1 million, $6.6 million, $0.5 million, and reduced our net income by $4.2 million for the quarters ended March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31, respectively, compared to the accounting standards in effect for 2017.



2017	March 31 ⁽¹⁾		June 30		September 30		December 31 ⁽²⁾
Revenues:
Transportation	$	3,102,043	$	3,319,995	$	3,433,701	$	3,647,167
Sourcing	313,082		390,023		350,750		312,619
Total revenues	3,415,125		3,710,018		3,784,451		3,959,786
Costs and expenses:
Purchased transportation and related services	2,563,885		2,781,355		2,869,616		3,042,434
Purchased products sourced for resale	282,674		354,874		320,989		285,503
Personnel expenses	290,504		284,220		293,204		311,599
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	90,104		107,749		106,177		109,374
Total costs and expenses	3,227,167		3,528,198		3,589,986		3,748,910
Income from operations	187,958		181,820		194,465		210,876
Net income	$	122,080	$	111,071	$	119,186	$	152,556
Basic net income per share	$	0.86	$	0.79	$	0.85	$	1.09
Diluted net income per share	$	0.86	$	0.78	$	0.85	$	1.08
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	141,484		141,061		140,422		139,572
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards	374		526		600		1,152
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	141,858		141,587		141,022		140,724

__________________________

⁽¹⁾ Our provision for income taxes decreased in the first quarter of 2017 by $13.7 million due to our adoption of ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718).

⁽²⁾ Our provision for income taxes decreased in the fourth quarter by $19.7 million due to the benefit of deductions under section 199 of the Internal Revenue Code and $12.1 million due to the impact of the Tax Act.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 378,615	$ 333,890	$ 247,666	$ 168,229
Stock award, vesting period	5 years
Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Intangible assets, estimated lives	5 years
Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Intangible assets, estimated lives	8 years
Full Value Awards
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Stock award, vesting period	5 years
Full Value Awards \| Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Shares and restricted units grants, discount for post-vesting holding restrictions (percent)	15.00%
Full Value Awards \| Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Shares and restricted units grants, discount for post-vesting holding restrictions (percent)	21.00%
Software
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Intangible assets, estimated lives	3 years
Held outside the United States
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 320,000	$ 275,300
Transportation Services
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
General payment terms upon completion of performance obligation	30 days
Value-Added Logistics Services
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
General payment terms upon completion of performance obligation	30 days
Sourcing Services
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
General payment terms upon completion of performance obligation	30 days

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Depreciation Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Depreciation expense	$ 45,155	$ 42,817	$ 36,212

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Summary of Property and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 498,847	$ 497,909
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(270,546)	(267,583)
Net property and equipment	228,301	230,326
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 272,733	277,014
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	3 years
Furniture, fixtures, and equipment \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	12 years
Buildings
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 130,959	130,712
Buildings \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	3 years
Buildings \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	30 years
Corporate aircraft
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	10 years
Property and equipment	$ 11,337	11,334
Leasehold improvements
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 58,929	50,616
Leasehold improvements \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	3 years
Leasehold improvements \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Useful Lives (in years)	15 years
Land
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 23,648	23,658
Construction in progress
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment	$ 1,241	$ 4,575

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Amortization Expense of Purchased and Internally Developed Software (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Software
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense	$ 14,688	$ 13,887	$ 11,404

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Summary of Purchased and Internally Developed Software (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Less accumulated amortization	$ (156,246)	$ (122,283)
Net	98,347	141,110
Software
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Less accumulated amortization	(66,638)	(54,194)
Net	34,675	26,776
Purchased software
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Software	32,460	25,805
Internally developed software
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Software	$ 68,853	$ 55,165

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Change in the Carrying Amount of Goodwill (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	$ 1,275,816	$ 1,232,796
Acquisitions		28,591
Acquisitions and adjustments	(7)
Foreign currency translation	(16,887)	14,429
Balance, end of year	1,258,922	1,275,816
NAST
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	921,486	907,230
Acquisitions		3,673
Acquisitions and adjustments	(40)
Foreign currency translation	(11,038)	10,583
Balance, end of year	910,408	921,486
Global Forwarding
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	185,873	159,050
Acquisitions		24,918
Acquisitions and adjustments	33
Foreign currency translation	(3,877)	1,905
Balance, end of year	182,029	185,873
Robinson Fresh
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	141,185	139,558
Acquisitions		0
Acquisitions and adjustments	0
Foreign currency translation	(1,653)	1,627
Balance, end of year	139,532	141,185
All Other and Corporate
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	27,272	26,958
Acquisitions		0
Acquisitions and adjustments	0
Foreign currency translation	(319)	314
Balance, end of year	$ 26,953	$ 27,272

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Goodwill or intangible asset impairment	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Summary of Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Finite-lived intangibles
Finite-lived intangibles, Cost	$ 254,593	$ 263,393
Accumulated Amortization	(156,246)	(122,283)
Net	98,347	141,110
Indefinite-lived intangibles
Total intangibles, Cost	265,068	273,868
Total intangibles, Net	108,822	151,585
Trademarks
Indefinite-lived intangibles
Indefinite-lived intangibles	10,475	10,475
Customer relationships
Finite-lived intangibles
Finite-lived intangibles, Cost	254,293	263,093
Accumulated Amortization	(156,006)	(122,103)
Net	98,287	140,990
Non-competition agreements
Finite-lived intangibles
Finite-lived intangibles, Cost	300	300
Accumulated Amortization	(240)	(180)
Net	$ 60	$ 120

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Amortization Expense of Other Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Other Intangible Assets
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense	$ 36,886	$ 36,273	$ 27,053

GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS - Estimated Amortization Expense of Intangible Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Estimated amortization expense
2019	$ 36,213
2020	25,950
2021	12,428
2022	12,428
2023	9,835
Thereafter	1,493
Net	98,347	$ 141,110
NAST
Estimated amortization expense
2019	7,800
2020	240
2021	240
2022	240
2023	240
Thereafter	219
Global Forwarding
Estimated amortization expense
2019	28,413
2020	25,710
2021	12,188
2022	12,188
2023	9,595
Thereafter	1,274
Robinson Fresh
Estimated amortization expense
2019	0
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
Thereafter	0
All Other and Corporate
Estimated amortization expense
2019	0
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
Thereafter	$ 0

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Level 3
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Assets or liabilities at fair value	$ 0	$ 0

FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS - Components of Short-term and Long-term Debt (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt, gross	$ 1,346,352	$ 1,465,000
Less: Current maturities and short-term borrowing	(5,000)	(715,000)
Long-term debt	$ 1,341,352	$ 750,000
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	3.64%
Debt, gross	$ 5,000
Line of Credit \| Revolving Credit Facility \| Credit Agreement due 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate		2.70%
Debt, gross		$ 715,000
Senior Notes \| Series A Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	3.97%	3.97%
Debt, gross	$ 175,000	$ 175,000
Senior Notes \| Series B Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	4.26%	4.26%
Debt, gross	$ 150,000	$ 150,000
Senior Notes \| Series C Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	4.60%	4.60%
Debt, gross	$ 175,000	$ 175,000
Secured Debt \| Receivables Securitization Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	3.15%	2.00%
Debt, gross	$ 249,744	$ 250,000
Unsecured Debt \| Senior Notes Due 2028
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average interest rate	4.20%
Debt, gross	$ 591,608	$ 0

FINANCING ARRANGEMENTS - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 17, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 09, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Aug. 27, 2013 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 1,346,352,000				$ 1,465,000,000
Line of Credit \| Credit Agreement due 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity			$ 900,000,000
Line of Credit \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity	$ 1,000,000,000
Maximum leverage ratio	3.00
Line of Credit \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023 \| Federal Funds Rate
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)	0.50%
Line of Credit \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023 \| LIBOR
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Basis spread on variable rate (percent)	1.13%
Line of Credit \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023 \| Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee (percent)	0.075%
Line of Credit \| Amended Credit Agreement due 2023 \| Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commitment fee (percent)	0.20%
Senior Notes
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt fair value	$ 484,700,000
Senior Notes \| Note Purchase Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum leverage ratio	3.00
Debt instrument principal amount						$ 500,000,000
Minimum interest coverage ratio	2.00
Maximum priority debt to total assets ratio (percent)	15.00%
Debt instrument, redemption price (percent)	100.00%
Secured Debt \| Receivables Securitization Facility
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt	$ 249,744,000				250,000,000
Secured Debt \| Receivables Securitization Facility \| Wells Fargo Bank N.A. and Bank of America N.A.
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Maximum borrowing capacity		$ 250,000,000
Unsecured Debt \| Senior Notes Due 2028
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt fair value	$ 587,200,000
Debt instrument, redemption price (percent)	101.00%
Debt instrument, annual interest rate (percent)				4.20%
Debt Instrument, effective yield (percent)				4.39%
Long-term debt	$ 591,608,000				$ 0
Threshold for holders of principal outstanding to declare principal and unpaid interest payable (percent)	25.00%

INCOME TAXES - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended			24 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Tax Act, Provisional income tax benefit		$ 12.1
Tax Act, Additional net expense related to increase in 2017 transition taxes	$ 4.0
Tax Act, Additional net tax benefits	0.6
Tax Act, Revised total tax benefit				$ 8.7
Tax benefit related to earnings from foreign subsidiaries	3.4
Increase in income tax payable due to repatriation of foreign earnings	14.8
Unrecognized tax benefits and related interest and penalties, all of which would affect our effective tax rate if recognized	38.0			38.0
Expected decrease in unrecognized tax benefits in next twelve months due to lapsing statutes	2.1			2.1
Interest and penalties recognized	1.0	0.7	$ 0.9
Interest and penalties accrued	6.5	6.8		6.5
Foreign net operating loss carryforwards tax effect	8.1	$ 10.9		$ 8.1
Foreign Operating Loss Carryforward
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Decrease in valuation allowance recorded against deferred tax asset	$ 1.7

INCOME TAXES - Schedule of Earnings Before Income Tax Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Domestic	$ 738,927	$ 638,718	$ 710,931
Foreign	141,346	89,745	101,019
Income before provision for income taxes	$ 880,273	$ 728,463	$ 811,950

INCOME TAXES - Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Excluding Interest and Penalties (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Excluding Amounts Pertaining to Examined Tax Returns [Roll Forward]
Unrecognized tax benefits, beginning of period	$ 31,806	$ 12,268	$ 13,271
Additions based on tax positions related to the current year	0	4,014	0
Additions for tax positions of prior years	1,662	16,713	55
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(263)	0	(211)
Lapse in statute of limitations	(1,394)	(1,189)	(847)
Settlements	(296)	0	0
Unrecognized tax benefits, end of the period	$ 31,515	$ 31,806	$ 12,268

INCOME TAXES - Components of the Provision for Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Tax provision:
Federal	$ 152,627	$ 189,708	$ 222,685
State	38,626	29,320	31,786
Foreign	39,830	32,638	29,086
Current income tax expense (benefit), total	231,083	251,666	283,557
Deferred provision (benefit):
Federal	(11,969)	(21,389)	13,936
State	(3,176)	(3,048)	1,986
Foreign	(170)	(3,659)	(913)
Deferred provision (benefit), total	(15,315)	(28,096)	15,009
Total provision	$ 215,768	$ 223,570	$ 298,566

INCOME TAXES - Reconciliation of the Provision for Income Taxes using Statutory Federal Income Tax Rate to the Effective Income Tax Rate (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Federal statutory rate	21.00%	35.00%	35.00%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit	3.30%	2.60%	2.70%
Tax Act impact	0.40%	(1.70%)	0.00%
Section 199 deduction	(0.00%)	(2.80%)	(0.00%)
Share-based payment awards	(0.70%)	(1.90%)	(0.00%)
Other	0.50%	(0.50%)	(0.90%)
Effective income tax rate	24.50%	30.70%	36.80%

INCOME TAXES - Deferred Tax Assets (Liabilities) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Deferred tax assets:
Compensation	$ 57,666	$ 52,538
Accrued expenses	27,683	3,155
Receivables	8,093	8,819
Other	6,004	4,737
Deferred tax liabilities:
Intangible assets	(77,059)	(81,932)
Accrued revenue	(19,571)	0
Prepaid assets	(5,798)	(8,247)
Long-lived assets	(15,615)	(15,465)
Other	(7,167)	(2,090)
Net deferred tax liabilities	$ (25,764)	$ (38,485)

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) vote $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2017 $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2016 shares	Dec. 31, 2015 shares	May 31, 2018 shares	May 12, 2016 shares	Dec. 31, 2013 shares
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Preferred stock, authorized (in shares)	20,000,000	20,000,000
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Preferred stock, outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, authorized (in shares)	480,000,000	480,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 0.10	$ 0.10
Entitled vote for each share of Common Stock (vote) \| vote	1
Stock award, vesting period	5 years
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	5,296
Maximum employee contribution to purchase company stock \| $	$ 10,000
Discount rate used to determine the purchase price	15.00%
2013 and 2018 Share Repurchase Programs
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Shares remaining for repurchase under authorization (in shares)	13,673,080
2013 Repurchase Program
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized to be repurchased (in shares)							15,000,000
2018 Repurchase Program
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized to be repurchased (in shares)					15,000,000
Stock Option
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Maximum shares that can be granted under stock plan (in shares)						13,041,803
Shares available for stock awards (in shares)	1,571,347
Stock award, vesting period	5 years
Unrecognized compensation expense \| $	$ 56,100,000
Performance Shares
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Options issued during period (in shares)	0	0	0	0
Full Value Awards
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Stock award, vesting period	5 years
Unrecognized compensation expense \| $	$ 120,000,000
Full Value Awards \| Minimum
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Restricted shares and restricted units grants, discount for post-vesting holding restrictions (percent)	15.00%
Full Value Awards \| Maximum
Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Disclosure [Line Items]
Restricted shares and restricted units grants, discount for post-vesting holding restrictions (percent)	21.00%

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Total Compensation Expense Recognized in Statements of Operations for Stock-Based Compensation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 87,791	$ 41,805	$ 37,565
Stock options
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	23,374	10,109	9,178
Stock awards
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	61,826	29,217	25,912
Company expense on ESPP discount
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 2,591	$ 2,479	$ 2,475

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Stock Option Activity (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Options
Outstanding, Beginning Balance (in shares)	7,382,072
Grants (in shares)	1,074,665
Exercised (in shares)	(578,467)
Terminated (in shares)	(55,756)
Outstanding, Ending Balance (in shares)	7,822,514	7,382,072
Vested (in shares)	4,191,118
Exercisable (in shares)	4,191,118
Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share)	$ 71.58
Grants (in dollars per share)	88.92
Exercised (in dollars per share)	65.13
Terminated (in dollars per share)	73.92
Outstanding, Ending Balance (in dollars per share)	74.42	$ 71.58
Vested (in dollars per share)	68.35
Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 68.35
Aggregate Intrinsic Value (in thousands)
Aggregate Intrinsic Value, outstanding options	$ 85,222	$ 129,295
Average Remaining Life (years)
Average Remaining Life, outstanding options	7 years 2 months 12 days	7 years 7 months 6 days
Vested	5 years 10 months 25 days
Exercisable	5 years 10 months 25 days

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Intrinsic Value of Options Exercised (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Intrinsic value	$ 16,209	$ 6,026	$ 981

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Stock Options Grants by First Vesting Date (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	5,173,807
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 14.67
Unvested Options (in shares)	3,494,615
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	1,421,933
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 12.66
Unvested Options (in shares)	561,579
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2017
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	1,246,480
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 12.60
Unvested Options (in shares)	735,744
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2018
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	1,470,606
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 14.25
Unvested Options (in shares)	1,162,504
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2019
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	1,034,788
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 20.52
Unvested Options (in shares)	1,034,788
Performance Shares \| First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options Granted, Net of Forfeitures (in shares)	1,253,443
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 14.17
Unvested Options (in shares)	136,781

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Assumptions Used in Estimating the Fair Value Per Option (Details) - Stock options - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value Assumptions and Methodology [Abstract]
Weighted-average risk-free interest rate (percent)	3.10%	2.30%	2.10%
Expected dividend yield (percent)	2.00%	2.50%	2.40%
Weighted-average volatility (percent)	25.00%	20.00%	20.00%
Expected term (in years)	6 years 29 days	6 years 2 months 12 days	6 years 3 months 4 days
Weighted average fair value per option (in dollars per share)	$ 20.52	$ 14.23	$ 12.60

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Nonvested Performance-Based Restricted Stock Grants (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares shares
Number of Shares and Restricted Stock Units
Unvested, Ending Balance (in shares) \| shares	846,170
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, Ending Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 64.91
Performance Based Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units
Number of Shares and Restricted Stock Units
Unvested, Beginning Balance (in shares) \| shares	1,215,459
Granted (in shares) \| shares	340,287
Vested (in shares) \| shares	(687,463)
Forfeitures (in shares) \| shares	(22,113)
Unvested, Ending Balance (in shares) \| shares	846,170
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 61.71
Granted (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	74.54
Vested (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	60.14
Forfeitures (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	60.50
Unvested, Ending Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 68.35

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Performance Based Shares and Units by First Vesting Date (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	1,696,609
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 64.91
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	846,170
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	323,442
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 61.75
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	34,572
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	389,644
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 51.88
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	139,431
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2017
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	339,808
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 64.91
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	162,955
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2018
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	312,797
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 74.26
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	178,294
First Vesting Date - Dec 31 2019
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Performance shares and stock units granted, net of forfeitures (in shares)	330,918
Weighted average grant date fair value (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 74.48
Unvested performance shares and restricted stock units (in shares)	330,918

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Nonvested Restricted Stock Grants (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares shares
Number of Restricted Shares and Stock Units
Unvested, Ending Balance (in shares) \| shares	846,170
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, Ending Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 64.91
Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units
Number of Restricted Shares and Stock Units
Unvested, Beginning Balance (in shares) \| shares	1,057,450
Granted (in shares) \| shares	279,679
Vested (in shares) \| shares	(324,965)
Forfeitures (in shares) \| shares	(85,472)
Unvested, Ending Balance (in shares) \| shares	926,692
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, Beginning Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 62.20
Granted (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	74.54
Vested (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	58.46
Forfeitures (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	62.57
Unvested, Ending Balance (in dollars per share) \| $ / shares	$ 67.08

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Fair Value of Full Value Stock Vested (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Full Value Awards
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair value	$ 61,826	$ 29,217	$ 25,912

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Summary of Employee Stock Purchase Plan Activity (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares Purchased By Employees (in shares)	191,823	215,613	225,241
Aggregate Cost to Employees	$ 14,682	$ 14,048	$ 14,032
Expense Recognized By the Company	87,791	41,805	37,565
Company expense on ESPP discount
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expense Recognized By the Company	$ 2,591	$ 2,479	$ 2,475

CAPITAL STOCK AND STOCK AWARD PLANS - Share Repurchase Programs Activity (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Share Repurchases [Line Items]
Total Value of Shares Repurchased	$ 303,492	$ 179,985	$ 176,676
2013 and 2018 Share Repurchase Programs
Share Repurchases [Line Items]
Shares Repurchased (in shares)	3,319,077	2,426,407	2,467,097
Total Value of Shares Repurchased	$ 303,492	$ 179,985	$ 176,676

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES - Profit-Sharing Plan Expense, Including Matching Contributions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Profit-sharing plan expense	$ 43,172	$ 27,530	$ 25,740

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined contribution match		4.00%	4.00%	4.00%
Forecast
Defined Contribution Plan Disclosure [Line Items]
Defined contribution match	6.00%

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES - Lease Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Lease expense	$ 72,327	$ 60,864	$ 55,170

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES - Minimum Future Lease Commitments Under Noncancelable Lease Agreements (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
2019	$ 53,675
2020	47,680
2021	36,832
2022	27,644
2023	19,406
Thereafter	81,465
Total	$ 266,702

ACQUISITIONS - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands			12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase consideration, net of cash acquired			$ 5,315	$ 49,068	$ 220,203
Goodwill recorded in acquisition				$ 28,591
Milgram & Company Ltd.
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase consideration, net of cash acquired	$ 47,300
Goodwill recorded in acquisition	$ 28,300
APC Logistics
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Payments to acquire business		$ 229,400

ACQUISITIONS - Summary of Identifiable Intangible Assets and Estimated Useful Lives (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Aug. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2016
Milgram & Company Ltd. \| Customer relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated Life (years)	7 years
Identifiable intangible assets	$ 14,004
APC Logistics
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Identifiable intangible assets		$ 78,842
APC Logistics \| Customer relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Estimated Life (years)		7 years
Identifiable intangible assets		$ 78,842

ACQUISITIONS - Summary of Purchase Allocation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill	$ 1,258,922	$ 1,275,816	$ 1,232,796
APC Logistics
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents				$ 10,181
Receivables				37,190
Other current assets				2,609
Property and equipment				1,696
Identifiable intangible assets				78,842
Goodwill				132,797
Other noncurrent assets				70
Deferred tax assets				814
Total assets				264,199
Accounts payable				(22,147)
Accrued expenses				(12,700)
Net assets acquired				$ 229,352

SEGMENT REPORTING - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
SEGMENT REPORTING - Additional Information (Details)	Dec. 31, 2018 segment
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of reportable segments (segment)	3

SEGMENT REPORTING - Summary of Segment Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) employee	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) employee	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) employee
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues	$ 4,137,908	$ 4,291,900	$ 4,276,037	$ 3,925,327	$ 3,959,786	$ 3,784,451	$ 3,710,018	$ 3,415,125	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Intersegment revenues									0	0	0
Total Revenues									16,631,172	14,869,380	13,144,413
Net Revenues									2,705,235	2,368,050	2,277,528
Income (loss) from operations	255,517	$ 245,973	$ 219,008	$ 191,585	210,876	$ 194,465	$ 181,820	$ 187,958	912,083	775,119	837,531
Depreciation and amortization									96,729	92,977	74,669
Total assets	4,427,412				4,235,834				$ 4,427,412	$ 4,235,834	$ 3,687,758
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									15,204	14,687	13,670
Operating Segments \| NAST
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 11,247,900	$ 9,728,810	$ 8,737,716
Intersegment revenues									545,177	462,390	298,438
Total Revenues									11,793,077	10,191,200	9,036,154
Net Revenues									1,788,498	1,525,064	1,524,355
Income (loss) from operations									773,846	628,110	674,436
Depreciation and amortization									24,510	23,230	22,126
Total assets	2,345,455				2,277,252				$ 2,345,455	$ 2,277,252	$ 2,088,611
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									6,938	6,907	6,773
Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 2,487,744	$ 2,140,987	$ 1,574,686
Intersegment revenues									48,343	30,198	30,311
Total Revenues									2,536,087	2,171,185	1,604,997
Net Revenues									543,906	485,280	397,537
Income (loss) from operations									91,626	91,842	80,931
Depreciation and amortization									35,148	33,308	23,099
Total assets	969,736				821,182				$ 969,736	$ 821,182	$ 703,741
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									4,711	4,310	3,673
Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 2,268,900	$ 2,415,740	$ 2,344,131
Intersegment revenues									211,286	167,292	119,403
Total Revenues									2,480,186	2,583,032	2,463,534
Net Revenues									234,046	226,059	234,794
Income (loss) from operations									59,735	53,374	75,757
Depreciation and amortization									4,506	4,730	3,782
Total assets	401,561				434,080				$ 401,561	$ 434,080	$ 376,654
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									903	957	942
Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 626,628	$ 583,843	$ 487,880
Intersegment revenues									20,951	18,174	2,211
Total Revenues									647,579	602,017	490,091
Net Revenues									138,785	131,647	120,842
Income (loss) from operations									(13,124)	1,793	6,407
Depreciation and amortization									32,565	31,709	25,662
Total assets	710,660				703,320				$ 710,660	$ 703,320	$ 518,752
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									2,652	2,513	2,282
Eliminations
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues									$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Intersegment revenues									(825,757)	(678,054)	(450,363)
Total Revenues									(825,757)	(678,054)	(450,363)
Net Revenues									0	0	0
Income (loss) from operations									0	0	0
Depreciation and amortization									0	0	0
Total assets	$ 0				$ 0				$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Average headcount (employee) \| employee									0	0	0

SEGMENT REPORTING - Total Revenues Based on Location of the Customer and Long-Lived Assets by Geographic Regions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Total revenues
Revenues	$ 4,137,908	$ 4,291,900	$ 4,276,037	$ 3,925,327	$ 3,959,786	$ 3,784,451	$ 3,710,018	$ 3,415,125	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Long-lived assets
Total long-lived assets	405,423				442,212				405,423	442,212	444,610
United States
Total revenues
Revenues									14,370,454	12,865,087	11,749,602
Long-lived assets
Total long-lived assets	321,766				335,072				321,766	335,072	348,299
Other locations
Total revenues
Revenues									2,260,718	2,004,293	1,394,811
Long-lived assets
Total long-lived assets	$ 83,657				$ 107,140				$ 83,657	$ 107,140	$ 96,311

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS - Cumulative Effect of Changes to Consolidated Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 2,162,438	$ 2,012,212	$ 2,113,930
Contract assets	159,635	147,764	0
Prepaid expenses and other		67,137
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	971,023	943,812	1,000,305
Accrued expenses - compensation	153,626	107,280	105,316
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820	94,811	0
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	63,410	55,477	58,229
Deferred tax liabilities	35,757	48,653	45,355
Equity:
Retained earnings	3,845,593	3,446,332	3,437,093
Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	2,223,632		2,113,930
Contract assets	0		0
Prepaid expenses and other	50,683		63,116
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	1,009,758		1,000,305
Accrued expenses - compensation	151,280		105,316
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	0		0
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	66,116		58,229
Deferred tax liabilities	30,599		45,355
Equity:
Retained earnings	3,831,332		$ 3,437,093
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 \| ASU No. 2014-09
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	(61,194)	(101,718)
Contract assets	159,635	147,764
Prepaid expenses and other	1,703	4,021
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	(38,735)	(56,493)
Accrued expenses - compensation	2,346	1,964
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820	94,811
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	(2,706)	(2,752)
Deferred tax liabilities	5,158	3,298
Equity:
Retained earnings	$ 14,261	$ 9,239

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS - Impact on Consolidated Statements of Operations (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Revenues
Total revenues	$ 4,137,908	$ 4,291,900	$ 4,276,037	$ 3,925,327	$ 3,959,786	$ 3,784,451	$ 3,710,018	$ 3,415,125	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Costs and expenses
Personnel expenses	339,316	335,299	340,630	328,297	311,599	293,204	284,220	290,504	1,343,542	1,179,527	1,064,936
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	118,950	112,772	111,845	106,043	109,374	106,177	107,749	90,104	449,610	413,404	375,061
Total costs and expenses	3,882,391	4,045,927	4,057,029	3,733,742	3,748,910	3,589,986	3,528,198	3,227,167	15,719,089	14,094,261	12,306,882
Income from operations	255,517	245,973	219,008	191,585	210,876	194,465	181,820	187,958	912,083	775,119	837,531
Interest and other expenses									(31,810)	(46,656)	(25,581)
Income before provision for income taxes									880,273	728,463	811,950
Provision for income taxes									215,768	223,570	298,566
Net income	187,150	175,895	159,163	142,297	152,556	119,186	111,071	122,080	664,505	504,893	513,384
ASU No. 2014-09
Costs and expenses
Net income	(4,200)	500	6,600	2,100
Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606
Revenues
Total revenues									16,698,041
Costs and expenses
Personnel expenses									1,343,159
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses									449,610
Total costs and expenses									15,792,866
Income from operations									905,175
Interest and other expenses									(31,810)
Income before provision for income taxes									873,365
Provision for income taxes									213,882
Net income									659,483
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 \| ASU No. 2014-09
Revenues
Total revenues									(66,869)
Costs and expenses
Personnel expenses									383
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses									0
Total costs and expenses									(73,777)
Income from operations									6,908
Interest and other expenses									0
Income before provision for income taxes									6,908
Provision for income taxes									1,886
Net income									5,022
Transportation and logistics services
Revenues
Total revenues	3,896,750	4,028,392	3,953,139	3,637,640	3,647,167	3,433,701	3,319,995	3,102,043	15,515,921	13,502,906	11,704,745
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products	3,207,859	3,359,520	3,313,196	3,041,602	3,042,434	2,869,616	2,781,355	2,563,885	12,922,177	11,257,290	9,549,934
Transportation and logistics services \| Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606
Revenues
Total revenues									15,462,328
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products									12,875,875
Transportation and logistics services \| Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 \| ASU No. 2014-09
Revenues
Total revenues									53,593
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products									46,302
Sourcing
Revenues
Total revenues	241,158	263,508	322,898	287,687	312,619	350,750	390,023	313,082	1,115,251	1,366,474	1,439,668
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products	$ 216,266	$ 238,336	$ 291,358	$ 257,800	$ 285,503	$ 320,989	$ 354,874	$ 282,674	1,003,760	$ 1,244,040	$ 1,316,951
Sourcing \| Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606
Revenues
Total revenues									1,235,713
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products									1,124,222
Sourcing \| Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 \| ASU No. 2014-09
Revenues
Total revenues									(120,462)
Costs and expenses
Purchased services and products									$ (120,462)

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS - Impact on Consolidated Balance Sheet (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 01, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 2,162,438	$ 2,012,212	$ 2,113,930
Contract assets	159,635	147,764	0
Prepaid expenses and other	52,386		63,116
Prepaid expenses and other		67,137
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	971,023	943,812	1,000,305
Accrued expenses - compensation	153,626	107,280	105,316
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820	94,811	0
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	63,410	55,477	58,229
Deferred tax liabilities	35,757	48,653	45,355
Equity:
Retained earnings	3,845,593	3,446,332	3,437,093
Calculated under Revenue Guidance in Effect before Topic 606
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	2,223,632		2,113,930
Contract assets	0		0
Prepaid expenses and other	50,683		63,116
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	1,009,758		1,000,305
Accrued expenses - compensation	151,280		105,316
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	0		0
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	66,116		58,229
Deferred tax liabilities	30,599		45,355
Equity:
Retained earnings	3,831,332		$ 3,437,093
Difference between Revenue Guidance in Effect before and after Topic 606 \| ASU No. 2014-09
Assets:
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts	(61,194)	(101,718)
Contract assets	159,635	147,764
Prepaid expenses and other	1,703	4,021
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	(38,735)	(56,493)
Accrued expenses - compensation	2,346	1,964
Accrued expenses - transportation expense	119,820	94,811
Accrued expenses - other accrued liabilities	(2,706)	(2,752)
Deferred tax liabilities	5,158	3,298
Equity:
Retained earnings	$ 14,261	$ 9,239

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS - Total Revenues Disaggregated by Major Service Line and Timing of Recognition (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues	$ 4,137,908	$ 4,291,900	$ 4,276,037	$ 3,925,327	$ 3,959,786	$ 3,784,451	$ 3,710,018	$ 3,415,125	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Operating Segments \| NAST
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									11,247,900	9,728,810	8,737,716
Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,487,744	2,140,987	1,574,686
Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,268,900	2,415,740	2,344,131
Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									626,628	583,843	487,880
Transportation and logistics services
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues	3,896,750	4,028,392	3,953,139	3,637,640	3,647,167	3,433,701	3,319,995	3,102,043	15,515,921	13,502,906	11,704,745
Transportation and logistics services \| Performance obligations completed over time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									15,515,921
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| NAST
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									11,247,900
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| NAST \| Performance obligations completed over time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									11,247,900
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,487,744
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding \| Performance obligations completed over time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									2,487,744
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,153,649
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh \| Performance obligations completed over time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,153,649
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									626,628
Transportation and logistics services \| Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate \| Performance obligations completed over time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									626,628
Sourcing
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues	$ 241,158	$ 263,508	$ 322,898	$ 287,687	$ 312,619	$ 350,750	$ 390,023	$ 313,082	1,115,251	$ 1,366,474	$ 1,439,668
Sourcing \| Performance obligations completed at a point in time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,115,251
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| NAST
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									0
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| NAST \| Performance obligations completed at a point in time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									0
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									0
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| Global Forwarding \| Performance obligations completed at a point in time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									0
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,115,251
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| Robinson Fresh \| Performance obligations completed at a point in time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									1,115,251
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									0
Sourcing \| Operating Segments \| All Other and Corporate \| Performance obligations completed at a point in time
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Total revenues									$ 0

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMERS - Additional Information (Details) - Product Concentration Risk - Sales Revenue, Net	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018
Transportation and logistics services
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Percentage of gross revenue attributable to services	91.00%
Buying, Selling, and Marketing of Produce Items
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Percentage of gross revenue attributable to services	7.00%
Value-Added Logistics Services
Disaggregation of Revenue [Line Items]
Percentage of gross revenue attributable to services	2.00%

CHANGES IN ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	$ (71,935)	$ (18,460)

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jan. 01, 2019	Jan. 01, 2018
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Cumulative adjustment to retained earnings		$ 9,239
ASU No. 2016-02 \| Subsequent Event
New Accounting Pronouncements or Change in Accounting Principle [Line Items]
Operating lease right-of-use asset	$ 265,400
Operating lease liabilities	$ 273,300

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA (UNAUDITED) - Summary of Unaudited Results of Operations by Quarter (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 4,137,908	$ 4,291,900	$ 4,276,037	$ 3,925,327	$ 3,959,786	$ 3,784,451	$ 3,710,018	$ 3,415,125	$ 16,631,172	$ 14,869,380	$ 13,144,413
Costs and expenses:
Personnel expenses	339,316	335,299	340,630	328,297	311,599	293,204	284,220	290,504	1,343,542	1,179,527	1,064,936
Other selling, general, and administrative expenses	118,950	112,772	111,845	106,043	109,374	106,177	107,749	90,104	449,610	413,404	375,061
Total costs and expenses	3,882,391	4,045,927	4,057,029	3,733,742	3,748,910	3,589,986	3,528,198	3,227,167	15,719,089	14,094,261	12,306,882
Income from operations	255,517	245,973	219,008	191,585	210,876	194,465	181,820	187,958	912,083	775,119	837,531
Net income	$ 187,150	$ 175,895	$ 159,163	$ 142,297	$ 152,556	$ 119,186	$ 111,071	$ 122,080	$ 664,505	$ 504,893	$ 513,384
Basic net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.36	$ 1.27	$ 1.14	$ 1.02	$ 1.09	$ 0.85	$ 0.79	$ 0.86	$ 4.78	$ 3.59	$ 3.60
Diluted net income per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.34	$ 1.25	$ 1.13	$ 1.01	$ 1.08	$ 0.85	$ 0.78	$ 0.86	$ 4.73	$ 3.57	$ 3.59
Basic weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	137,797	138,797	139,464	140,032	139,572	140,422	141,061	141,484	139,010	140,610	142,706
Dilutive effect of outstanding stock awards (in shares)	1,385	1,363	1,147	1,238	1,152	600	526	374	1,395	772	285
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	139,182	140,160	140,611	141,270	140,724	141,022	141,587	141,858	140,405	141,382	142,991
Income tax expense (benefit)									$ 215,768	$ 223,570	$ 298,566
Decrease in provision for income taxes related to section 199 deductions					$ 19,700
Decrease in provision for income taxes due to impact of the Tax Act					12,100
Transportation
Revenues:
Total revenues	$ 3,896,750	$ 4,028,392	$ 3,953,139	$ 3,637,640	3,647,167	$ 3,433,701	$ 3,319,995	$ 3,102,043	15,515,921	13,502,906	11,704,745
Costs and expenses:
Purchased services and products	3,207,859	3,359,520	3,313,196	3,041,602	3,042,434	2,869,616	2,781,355	2,563,885	12,922,177	11,257,290	9,549,934
Sourcing
Revenues:
Total revenues	241,158	263,508	322,898	287,687	312,619	350,750	390,023	313,082	1,115,251	1,366,474	1,439,668
Costs and expenses:
Purchased services and products	216,266	238,336	291,358	257,800	$ 285,503	$ 320,989	$ 354,874	282,674	$ 1,003,760	$ 1,244,040	$ 1,316,951
ASU No. 2014-09
Costs and expenses:
Net income	$ (4,200)	$ 500	$ 6,600	$ 2,100
ASU No. 2016-09
Costs and expenses:
Income tax expense (benefit)								$ (13,700)

SCHEDULE II. VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS - Transactions in the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
SEC Schedule, 12-09, Movement in Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Roll Forward]
Balance, beginning of year	$ 42,409	$ 39,543	$ 43,455
Provision	15,634	13,489	5,136
Write-offs	(16,912)	(10,623)	(9,048)
Balance, end of year	$ 41,131	$ 42,409	$ 39,543