Flexport volumes up 40% as headcount grows only 5%
Flexport's CEO says ocean volumes have kept climbing since April and the company is weighing smaller engineering teams as AI speeds up product releases.
Flexport’s freight volumes are up 40% from a year ago while its headcount has grown 5%, founder and CEO Ryan Petersen told FreightWaves. He credits the gap to artificial intelligence tools the company now runs across customs, routing and its own engineering teams.
The AI has a limit in customs, the most regulated part of Flexport’s business. There, an AI-generated tariff code still has to pass a licensed broker before it can legally reach U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“Our volumes are up 40% annually. And headcount’s only up 5%, so you can see the AI’s working,” Petersen said.
The interview followed Flexport’s fall technology release, which added an AI classification tool to its customs software and rail, barge and air routing to its free Flexport Atlas map. Time magazine named Flexport’s Customs Technology Suite to its Best Inventions of 2026 list on Oct. 15.
This story was originally published by FreightWaves. Read the full story at FreightWaves →
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