C. H. Robinson posts double-digit earnings growth

C.H. Robinson posts double-digit earnings growth    C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., the Minneapolis-based trucking and multimodal logistics provider Wednesday reported third-quarter net income

improved 11.4 percent to $28.9 million.    Gross profit improved 10.3 percent to $135.8 million and operating income rose 10.5 percent to $46.8 million. Revenue improved to $919.3 million

from $872.2 million for the third quarter of 2002.    Transportation gross profit increased 10.7 percent to $115.4 million. Truck transportation business improved 9.2 percent to $99.4

million primarily from growth in both truckload and less-than-truckload transactions. Intermodal gross profit jumped 36.9 percent to $7.9 million due to increased volumes and margin

expansion, C.H. Robinson said.    Combined air and ocean gross profits increased 5.5 percent to $5.4 million.    For the nine-month period ending Sept. 30, net income increased 17.6 percent

to $84.7 million. G4ross profit rose 13.0 percent to $404.9 million while operating income increased 16.4 percent to $136.4 million. Revenue increased to $2.67 billon from $2.45 billion.