C.H. ROBINSON 1ST-QUARTER NET INCOME UP 15%

C.H. ROBINSON 1ST-QUARTER NET INCOME UP 15%    C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc., the Minneapolis-based trucking and multimodal and logistics services provider, said its first quarter net income improved 14.9 percent to $20.8 million.
   Operating income increased 15.2 percent to $33.8 million. Gross profits rose 0.3 percent to $113.6 million. Revenue was $740.0 million, up 1.0 percent.
   Transportation gross profits slipped 0.2 percent, due largely to a decline in truckload volumes. The company continues to see the trend of less volume with its traditional business with produce wholesalers, which is offset by increases in volumes with large retailers.
   'As we expected, the environment continued to be challenging for revenue growth,' said John Wiehoff, president of C.H. Robinson. 'We continue to concentrate on sales and profitable growth, while aggressively managing our expenses.'