Exhibit 99.1

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

8100 Mitchell Road, Suite 200

Eden Prairie, Minnesota 55344

Chad Lindbloom, vice president and chief financial officer (952) 937-7779

Angie Freeman, investor relations (952) 937-7847

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

C.H. ROBINSON ANNOUNCES IT WILL EXPENSE STOCK OPTIONS

MINNEAPOLIS, April 5, 2004 — C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (“C.H. Robinson”) (NASDAQ:CHRW), today reported that it has adopted the fair value recognition method of accounting as provided in Financial Accounting Standards Board SFAS No. 123, rather than the intrinsic value method as previously used, effective for 2004. With the adoption of the SFAS 123 fair value method, C.H. Robinson will expense its stock options and the discount granted to employees on C.H. Robinson shares purchased through the company’s employee stock purchase program. C.H. Robinson will retroactively apply this provision to its financial information for prior periods in order to provide investors with comparable results in the current and coming years.

The income statement impact of this adoption was discussed in Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in C.H. Robinson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 15, 2004. The adoption results in an increase to personnel expenses of $7.5 million in 2003 and $7.6 million in 2002, and a decrease to diluted earnings per share of $0.08 in 2003 and $0.07 in 2002. C.H. Robinson expects the impact for 2004 to be approximately the same as 2003, with the personnel expense impacts in future years declining by approximately $2.0 million per year until 2008 when all existing option grants have fully vested.

“We have recently switched our primary equity incentives for employees to restricted stock grants which vest based on company performance. We believe that restricted stock will better align our employees’ interests with those of our shareholders,” said Chad M. Lindbloom, vice president and chief financial officer of C.H. Robinson. “With the move to restricted stock, we believe retroactively adopting the fair value provisions of SFAS 123 will provide the most meaningful comparisons of our results.”

Founded in 1905, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., is one of the largest third-party logistics companies in North America. C.H. Robinson is a global provider of multimodal transportation services and logistics solutions, serving 16,000 customers through a network of 159 offices in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. C.H. Robinson maintains one of the largest networks of motor carrier capacity in North America through contracts with more than 25,000 motor carriers, and is one of the largest third-party providers of intermodal services in the United States.

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this release are forward-looking statements that represent our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies concerning future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and

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C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

April 5, 2004

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uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or our present expectations, including, but not limited to such factors as market demand and pressures on the pricing for our services; competition and growth rates within the third-party logistics industry; freight levels and availability of truck capacity or alternative means of transporting freight, and changes in relationships with existing truck, rail, ocean and air carriers; changes in our customer base due to possible consolidation among our customers; the impact of new Hours of Service regulations adopted by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; our ability to integrate the operations of acquired companies with our historic operations successfully; risks associated with litigation and insurance coverage; risks associated with operations outside of the U.S.; changing economic conditions such as general economic slowdown, decreased consumer confidence, fuel shortages and the impact of war on the economy; and other risk and uncertainties detailed under “Cautionary Statement” in Exhibit 99.1 to C.H. Robinson’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 15, 2004.

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C. H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

April 5, 2004

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C. H. ROBINSON WORLDWIDE, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT — Restated

(unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

	Quarters Ended 2003,
	March		June		September		December		YTD
Gross profits	$	133,091	$	136,025	$	135,821	$	139,911	$	544,848
Personnel expenses		69,192		69,629		69,178		71,009		279,008
Other selling, general and administrative expenses		22,412		22,126		21,755		23,501		89,794
Total selling, general and administrative expenses		91,604		91,755		90,933		94,510		368,802
Income from operations		41,487		44,270		44,888		45,401		176,046
Total investment and other income		344		1,050		344		850		2,588
Income before provision for income taxes		41,831		45,320		45,232		46,251		178,634
Provision for income taxes		16,691		18,099		18,020		18,455		71,265
Net income	$	25,140	$	27,221	$	27,212	$	27,796	$	107,369
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding		85,623		86,126		86,228		86,299		86,069
Diluted net income per share	$	0.29	$	0.32	$	0.32	$	0.32	$	1.25
	Quarters Ended 2002,
	March		June		September		December		YTD
Gross profits	$	113,597	$	121,570	$	123,084	$	125,527	$	483,778
Personnel expenses		60,769		60,563		61,189		61,800		244,321
Other selling, general and administrative expenses		20,873		21,965		21,486		26,201		90,525
Total selling, general and administrative expenses		81,642		82,528		82,675		88,001		334,846
Income from operations		31,955		39,042		40,409		37,526		148,932
Total investment and other income		328		352		180		474		1,334
Income before provision for income taxes		32,283		39,394		40,589		38,000		150,266
Provision for income taxes		12,990		15,844		16,382		15,252		60,468
Net income	$	19,293	$	23,550	$	24,207	$	22,748	$	89,798
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding		85,978		85,980		85,500		85,569		85,757
Diluted net income per share	$	0.22	$	0.27	$	0.28	$	0.27	$	1.05

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