FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American
multinational conglomerate holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
focused on
transportation
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...
,
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
and
business services
Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) ...
based in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. The name "FedEx" is a
syllabic abbreviation
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
of the name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1973 until 2000. FedEx today is best known for its air delivery service,
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
, which was one of the first major shipping companies to offer overnight delivery as a flagship service. Since then, FedEx also started
FedEx Ground
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by ...
,
FedEx Office
FedEx Office Print & Ship Services Inc. (doing business as FedEx Office; formerly FedEx Kinko's, and earlier simply Kinko's) is an American retail chain that provides an outlet for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground (including Home Delivery) shippin ...
(originally known as Kinko's),
FedEx Supply Chain
FedEx Supply Chain, formerly known as GENCO (General Commodities Warehouse & Distribution Co.) is a major third-party logistics (3PL) provider in the United States and Canada. It serves various industries, including: technology & electronics, reta ...
, FedEx Freight, and various other services across multiple subsidiaries, often meant to respond to its main competitor,
UPS
UPS or ups may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* United Parcel Service, an American shipping company
** The UPS Store, UPS subsidiary
** UPS Airlines, UPS subsidiary
* Underground Press Syndicate, later ''Alternative Press Syndicate'' or ...
. FedEx is also
one of the top contractors of the US government and assists in the transport of some
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
packages through their Air Cargo Network contract.
FedEx's prominence in both the United States and the world have made it a common topic in popular culture, with examples including the film ''
Cast Away
''Cast Away'' is a 2000 American survival drama film directed and produced by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, and Nick Searcy. Hanks plays a FedEx troubleshooter stranded on an uninhabited island after his plane crashes in ...
'' as well as some of its marketing slogans (most famously ''"when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight"''). In addition, FedEx has purchased the naming rights to
FedExField
FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 un ...
of the NFL's
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
and
FedExForum
FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ga ...
of the NBA's
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
. FedEx's air shipping services have made its main hub (aka the "Superhub") at
Memphis International Airport
Memphis International Airport is a civil-military airport located southeast of Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. It is the primary international airport serving Memphis. It covers and has four runways., effective Au ...
the busiest cargo airport in the world by 2020.
History
Foundation and early history
![First FedEx van Memphis TN 2013-05-17 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/First_FedEx_van_Memphis_TN_2013-05-17_002.jpg)
The company was founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1971 as Federal Express Corporation by
Frederick W. Smith
Frederick Wallace Smith (born August 11, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor. He is the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest transportation company. On June 1, 2022, Smith stepped down as CEO to become exe ...
, a graduate of
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. He drew up the company's concept in a term paper at Yale, in which he called for a system specifically designed for urgent deliveries. While his professor didn't think much of the idea, Smith pressed on. He began formal operations in 1973, when he moved operations to
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
. Smith said he chose
Memphis International Airport
Memphis International Airport is a civil-military airport located southeast of Downtown Memphis in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. It is the primary international airport serving Memphis. It covers and has four runways., effective Au ...
for being near the mean population center of the country and for its placid weather.
The company grew rapidly, and by 1983 had a billion dollars in revenues, a rarity for a startup company that had never taken part in mergers or acquisitions in its first decade. It expanded to Europe and Asia in 1984. In 1988, it acquired one of its major competitors,
Flying Tiger Line
Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline ...
, creating the largest full-service cargo airline in the world. In 1994, Federal Express shortened its name to "FedEx" for marketing purposes, officially adopting a nickname that had been used for years.
Reorganization and Caliber acquisition
![FEDEX MD-11F(AF) (N612FE48605555)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/FEDEX_MD-11F%28AF%29_%28N612FE48605555%29.jpg)
On October 2, 1997, FedEx reorganized as a holding company, FDX Corporation, a
Delaware corporation
The Delaware General Corporation Law (Title 8, Chapter 1 of the Delaware Code) is the statute of the Delaware Code that governs corporate law in the U.S. state of Delaware. Adopted in 1899, the statute has since seen Delaware become the most imp ...
. The new holding company began operations in January 1998, with the acquisition of
Caliber System Inc. by Federal Express. With the purchase of Caliber, FedEx started offering other services besides express shipping. Caliber subsidiaries included RPS, a small-package ground service; Roberts Express, an expedited shipping provider; Viking Freight, a regional,
less-than-truckload
Less-than-truckload shipping or less than load (LTL) is the transportation of an amount of freight sized between individual parcels and full truckloads. Parcel carriers handle small packages and freight that can be broken down into units less t ...
freight carrier
Cargo consists of bulk goods conveyed by water, air, or land. In economics, freight is cargo that is transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. ''Cargo'' was originally a shipload but now covers all types of freight, including transp ...
serving the Western United States; Caribbean Transportation Services, a provider of airfreight forwarding between the United States and the Caribbean; and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology, providers of logistics and technology services. FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of those companies and its original air division, Federal Express.
In January 2000, FDX Corporation changed its name to FedEx Corporation and re-branded all of its subsidiaries. Federal Express became FedEx Express, RPS became
FedEx Ground
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by ...
, Roberts Express became FedEx Custom Critical, and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were combined to comprise FedEx Global Logistics. A new subsidiary, called FedEx Corporate Services, was formed to centralize the sales, marketing, and customer service for all of the subsidiaries. In February 2000, FedEx acquired Tower Group International, an international logistics company. FedEx also acquired WorldTariff, a
customs duty
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and polic ...
and tax information company; TowerGroup and WorldTariff were re-branded to form FedEx Trade Networks.
21st century
![FedEx Truck Downtown Miami (25706470807)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/FedEx_Truck_Downtown_Miami_%2825706470807%29.jpg)
FedEx Corp. acquired privately held
Kinko's, Inc. in February 2004 and re-branded it FedEx Kinko's. The acquisition was made to expand FedEx's retail access to the general public. After the acquisition, all FedEx Kinko's locations offered only FedEx shipping.
In June 2008, FedEx announced that they would be dropping the Kinko's name from their ship centers; FedEx Kinko's would now be called
FedEx Office
FedEx Office Print & Ship Services Inc. (doing business as FedEx Office; formerly FedEx Kinko's, and earlier simply Kinko's) is an American retail chain that provides an outlet for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground (including Home Delivery) shippin ...
. In September 2004, FedEx acquired Parcel Direct, a parcel consolidator, and re-branded it FedEx SmartPost.
In April 2015, FedEx acquired their rival firm
TNT Express
TNT Express was an international courier delivery services company with its headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands.
History
The namesake Thomas Nationwide Transport grandfather company was originally started in 1946 with a single truck in Adel ...
for €4.4 billion ($4.8 billion; £3.2 billion) as it looked to expand their operations in Europe.
In February 2016, FedEx announced the launch of FedEx Cares, a global giving platform, and committed to invest $200 million to strengthen more than 200 communities by 2020.
In March 2018, FedEx announced the acquisition of P2P Mailing Limited, a last-mile delivery service, for £92 million to expand their portfolio.
In June 2019, FedEx announced they would not be renewing their $850 million contract with
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
for the company's U.S. domestic express delivery business. Amazon accounted for 1.3 percent of 2018 revenues. In August 2019, FedEx announced the termination of ground deliveries for Amazon as well.
In December 2020, FedEx acquired ShopRunner, an e-commerce platform.
On March 29, 2022, founder
Frederick W. Smith
Frederick Wallace Smith (born August 11, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor. He is the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest transportation company. On June 1, 2022, Smith stepped down as CEO to become exe ...
announced he would be retiring as CEO and become executive chairman effective June 1, 2022. The company named
Raj Subramaniam
Rajesh Subramaniam is the CEO and President-elect of the FedEx Corporation. Prior to this position, he held many organizational management and marketing roles in Asia and the US at FedEx.
Early life and education
Subramaniam was born in Thiruvan ...
, FedEx's current president and COO, as Smith's successor.
Operating units
FedEx Corporation divides its business into the following main operating units:
FedEx Express
![TNT electric van](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/TNT_electric_van_.jpg)
FedEx Express is the company's original overnight
courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
services, providing next day air service within the US and time-definite international service. It operates one of the largest civil aircraft fleets in the world, has the largest fleet of wide bodied civil aircraft, and carries more freight than any other airline.
Included in this unit are:
* Caribbean Transport Services: Until 2008, part of FedEx Freight. Provides airfreight forwarding services between the US mainland,
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, and other
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
destinations.
*
TNT Express
TNT Express was an international courier delivery services company with its headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands.
History
The namesake Thomas Nationwide Transport grandfather company was originally started in 1946 with a single truck in Adel ...
: Formerly an independent international courier delivery company headquartered in
Hoofddorp, Netherlands
Hoofddorp (; ) is the main town of the Haarlemmermeer municipality in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. In 2021, the population was 77,885. The town was founded in 1853, immediately after the Haarlemmermeer had been drained.
Hist ...
, now a subsidiary of FedEx. It has fully owned operations in 61 countries, and delivers documents, parcels and freight to over two hundred countries.
* FedEx Custom Critical: Delivers urgent, valuable, or hazardous items using trucks and chartered aircraft.
Drivers are independent
owner/operators and services in Mexico use
interline carriers. Formerly Roberts Express, a subsidiary of Caliber System.
* FedEx Cross Border: Provides information services, compliance management, and currency conversion services for cross-border retailers. Formerly Bongo International.
FedEx Ground
![FedEx Ground delivery truck Navistar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/FedEx_Ground_delivery_truck_Navistar.jpg)
FedEx Ground provides day-definite mail and
package delivery
Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less than truckload shippi ...
to commercial locations in the US and Canada and residential locations in Canada. Its services are cheaper than the time-definite services offered by FedEx Express. The company was formerly Roadway Package System (RPS), a division of Caliber System.
The unit also includes:
*
FedEx Home Delivery
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by ...
: Provides domestic residential delivery services on an expanded schedule better suited to personal deliveries. Operates only in the US, residential deliveries in Canada are provided by FedEx Ground. The service's logo includes a drawing of a dog carrying a package.
*
FedEx Ground Economy
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by t ...
(formerly FedEx SmartPost): Consolidates parcels from merchants such as e-commerce and catalog companies, transports them in bulk between its hubs, and uses FedEx Ground or Home Delivery for
final mile delivery. Formerly Parcel Direct, a subsidiary of catalog publisher
Quad Graphics
Quad (formerly Quad/Graphics) is an American commercial printing company which offers marketing strategy and management services, based in Sussex, Wisconsin. It was founded as a printing company on July 13, 1971, by Harry V. Quadracci. Since 20 ...
, acquired by FedEx in 2004.
FedEx Freight
![FEDEX Freight (8915186339)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/FEDEX_Freight_%288915186339%29.jpg)
FedEx Freight is the largest
less-than-truckload
Less-than-truckload shipping or less than load (LTL) is the transportation of an amount of freight sized between individual parcels and full truckloads. Parcel carriers handle small packages and freight that can be broken down into units less t ...
(LTL) freight carrier in the US, reporting in revenue for 2021, and operates LTL and other freight services in the US and Canada. The unit was formed in 2002 when FedEx bought regional US LTL carrier
American Freightways
American Freightways Corp. (AF) was an American regional less than truckload (LTL) carrier based in Harrison, Arkansas. It was acquired by FedEx in 2001, renamed FedEx Freight East in 2002, and its operations were merged with FedEx's other LTL su ...
(AF) and established FedEx Freight as a parent company for AF, renamed FedEx Freight East, and FedEx's existing regional LTL subsidiary, Viking Freight, renamed FedEx Freight West. Viking had been a Caliber subsidiary when Caliber was acquired by FedEx in 1998. FedEx bought Lakeland, Florida-based national LTL carrier Watkins Motor Lines in 2006 and renamed it FedEx National LTL. All three operated as an independent subsidiaries of FedEx Freight
until January 2010 when they were merged with their parent to form a single entity, FedEx Freight Inc.
The unit is the parent of:
* FedEx Freight Canada: Formerly Watkins Canada Express, the Canadian services of Watkins Motor Lines.
FedEx Logistics
FedEx Logistics provides supply chain, specialty transportation, cross border e-commerce, customs brokerage, and trade management technology and services. The division was known as FedEx Trade Networks until January 2019 and is composed of a number of FedEx acquisitions as well as the operations of former Caliber subsidiaries Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology. Divisions include:
* FedEx Air and Ocean Cargo Networks: International air and ocean freight forwarding. Formerly C.J. Tower & Sons, TowerGroup International Inc. (acquired by FedEx in 2000), and FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, Inc.
* FedEx Customs Brokerage: Customs and international trade compliance services. Formerly World Tariff, Ltd. (acquired by FedEx in 2000) and FedEx Trade Networks Trade Services, Inc.
* FedEx Forward Depots: Critical inventory and service parts logistics. Also includes the TechConnect business equipment repair and refurbishment facilities, 3-D printing services, and the FedEx Packaging Lab.
*
FedEx Supply Chain
FedEx Supply Chain, formerly known as GENCO (General Commodities Warehouse & Distribution Co.) is a major third-party logistics (3PL) provider in the United States and Canada. It serves various industries, including: technology & electronics, reta ...
: Third-party logistics including transportation management, warehousing, fulfillment, and returns. Formerly GENCO.
FedEx Services
FedEx Services provides
corporate services
Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain enterprise-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge, best practices, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) ...
to other FedEx operating companies. Specifically, all marketing, sales, pricing, data analytics, forecasting, finance, customer service, information technology, and their respective organizations (and cost centers) reside inside FedEx Services. Customer facing transportation services and support managed by teams within FedEx Services include:
* FedEx Customer Relations: Operates
customer service
Customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a company to those people who buy or use its products or services. Each industry requires different levels of customer service, but in the end, the idea of a well-performed service is that ...
and
customer support
Customer support is a range of services to assist customers in making cost effective and correct use of a product. It includes assistance in planning, installation, training, troubleshooting, maintenance, upgrading, and disposal of a product. Reg ...
operations for other FedEx units including Express, Ground, Freight, and Office. Also manages customer operations at staffed locations, manages FedEx
drop boxes, and provides internal corporate services. Formerly FedEx Customer Information Services (FCIS).
* FedEx Delivery Manager: Desktop and web software used by FedEx clients to create, track, and manage shipments.
* FedEx Express package services: Overnight and deferred small package transportation services (time definite services).
* FedEx Express Freight services: Overnight and deferred palletized freight transportation services (time definite services).
* FedEx Ground package services: Day definite ground based small package transportation services.
* FedEx Freight transportation services: Day definite ground based freight transportation services.
* FedEx Express International package services: Day definite air based small package transportation services.
* FedEx Express International freight services: Day definite air based palletized freight transportation services.
* FedEx.com online website support: Maintenance and development of all online assets owned by FedEx.
FedEx Dataworks
A spin-off of FedEx Services, FedEx Dataworks is the youngest of FedEx's Operating Companies. FDW is focused on harnessing the power of the rich FedEx data ecosystem to transform the digital and physical customer experience creating solutions that build the network for what’s next by collaborating across the enterprise to integrate technology and services using
Data Science
Data science is an interdisciplinary field that uses scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge and insights from noisy, structured and unstructured data, and apply knowledge from data across a br ...
and
Machine Learning
Machine learning (ML) is a field of inquiry devoted to understanding and building methods that 'learn', that is, methods that leverage data to improve performance on some set of tasks. It is seen as a part of artificial intelligence.
Machine ...
to help make shipping more efficient. Their first product was Surround, a software solution based on proactive monitoring and intervention controls across a delivery network whose first use was used in tracking critical shipments of COVID-19 vaccines.
FedEx Office
FedEx Office is the retail arm of the corporation offering
print and
photocopy
A photocopier (also called copier or copy machine, and formerly Xerox machine, the generic trademark) is a machine that makes copies of documents and other visual images onto paper or plastic film quickly and cheaply. Most modern photocopiers u ...
services, business services including signage and marketing, and retail sales of FedEx shipping services. The unit also includes FedEx SameDay City, a
same-day delivery
Package delivery or parcel delivery is the delivery of shipping containers, parcels, or high value mail as single shipments. The service is provided by most postal systems, express mail, private courier companies, and less than truckload shippi ...
service. FedEx Office was formerly an independent company, Kinko's, until it was acquired by FedEx in 2004 and rebranded FedEx Kinko's. It was again rebranded in June 2008 becoming FedEx Office. Its divisions include:
* FedEx Office Print and Ship Centers: Successor to the original Kinko's operations. Also provide FedEx Hold at Location services, where a package can be delivered to and held at a FedEx Office location for later pickup by the receiver. FedEx Office also operates its own
courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
network for location to location and local delivery. Includes some locations previously called FedEx World Service Centers which predated FedEx's Kinko's acquisition.
* FedEx SameDay City: Same-day delivery courier providing Standard, pickup by noon and delivered by end of day, and Priority, delivery within two hours, services.
Competitors
FedEx's primary competitor in the United States and most of its international destinations is
United Parcel Service
United Parcel Service (UPS, stylized as ups) is an American multinational corporation, multinational package delivery, shipping & receiving and supply chain management company founded in 1907. Originally known as the American Messenger Company ...
(UPS). Both companies employ generally similar strategies; both companies' largest hubs for its air delivery are in the southern United States (
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
for FedEx and
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
for UPS), both offer overnight, 2-day, and ground delivery as default options, both frequently use
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for Ted Stevens, a U.S. senator from Alaska in office from 1968 to 2009. It is included ...
for trans-pacific shipments, and both of their main hubs are some of the
world's busiest airports by cargo traffic
The world's thirty busiest airports by cargo traffic for various periods (data provided by Airports Council International). Numbers listed refer to loaded and unloaded freight in metric tonnes, including transit freight.
2021 final statistics
...
. FedEx's other main competitor is the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
(USPS), as USPS offers an overnight service (Priority Mail Express), a 2-5 day service (Priority Mail), and an economy/ground service (First Class, Parcel Select Ground). To a lesser extent in the US, FedEx competes with
SF Express
SF Express (Group) Co., Ltd. is a Chinese multinational delivery services and logistics company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong. It is the second largest courier in China, and provides domestic and international express delivery. SF Express has a ...
and
DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. DHL ...
, and while DHL's market share in the United States is rising, the shipping industry (not including USPS) in the United States is primarily dominated by UPS and FedEx; DHL is only a strong competitor to FedEx outside of the United States.
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, with its airline
Amazon Air
Amazon Air, operating under the callsign Prime Air, is a cargo airline operating exclusively to transport Amazon packages. In 2017, it changed its name from Amazon Prime Air to Amazon Air to differentiate themselves from their autonomous dron ...
, its fleet of trucks, vans and ships and its worldwide staff of more than 1.4 million, plans to become the largest delivery service in the U.S.A.
Corporate identity
Logo
The FedEx logo is a
wordmark
__notoc__
A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...
designed in 1994 by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates, of San Francisco.
[The Sneeze: The Man Behind the FedEx Logo](_blank)
November 16, 2004 It consists of ''Fed'' in purple and ''Ex'' in orange. The FedEx wordmark is notable for containing a subliminal right-pointing arrow in the
negative space
Negative space, in art, is the empty space around and between the subject(s) of an image. Negative space may be most evident when the space around a subject, not the subject itself, forms an interesting or artistically relevant shape, and su ...
between the "E" and the "X", which was achieved by designing a proprietary font, based on
Univers
Univers () is a large sans-serif typeface family designed by Adrian Frutiger and released by his employer Deberny & Peignot in 1957. Classified as a Grotesque (typeface classification), neo-grotesque sans-serif, one based on the model of nineteen ...
and
Futura, to emphasize the arrow shape.
Leader believed the logo promoted FedEx as "getting from point A to point B reliably with speed and precision".
In the early 2000s, the ''Ex'' was in a different color for each
division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
and platinum for the overall corporation use. However, in August 2016, FedEx announced that all operating units would adopt the purple and orange color logo over the next five years (the same as the original FedEx logo, and later used by FedEx Express).
Advertising
FedEx advertising slogans have included:
* "When it Absolutely, Positively has to be there overnight" – 1978–1983
* "It's not Just a Package, It's Your Business" – 1987–1988
* "Our Most Important Package is Yours" – 1991–1994
* "Absolutely, Positively Anytime" – 1995
* "The Way the World Works," 1996–1998
* "Be Absolutely Sure," 1998–2000
* "This is a Job for FedEx," 2001–2002
* "Don’t worry, there's a FedEx for that,” 2002–2003
* "Relax, it’s FedEx," 2004–2008
* "The World On Time" 2001–present
* "We Understand," 2009–present
* "We Live To Deliver" 2009–present
* "Where now meets next" 2021–present
![FedEx 727 N467FE Fairbanks (Quintin Soloviev)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/FedEx_727_N467FE_Fairbanks_%28Quintin_Soloviev%29.jpg)
In 1981, FedEx's advertising firm
Ally & Gargano
Ally & Gargano was an American advertising agency, which Advertising Age named Agency of the Year in 1982. It was the first advertising agency to initiate comparative advertising (naming competitors in advertising by name.) Among a long list of a ...
hired performer
John Moschitta, Jr.
John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The ...
, known for his fast speech delivery, to do an ad for Federal Express titled "Fast Paced World". This single commercial was cited years later by ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
'' as one of the most memorable ads ever.
Sponsorships
Motorsports
![Denny Hamlin at the 2012 Kobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Denny_Hamlin_at_the_2012_Kobalt_Tools_400_in_Las_Vegas.jpg)
* From 1997 to 2002, FedEx was the title sponsor of
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...
when it was known as
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
. The series was known as the "CART FedEx Championship Series", which led to the official "Champ Car" designation in reference to the fact they were the FedEx Championship.
* FedEx is the sponsor of the No. 11
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, owned by
Joe Gibbs Racing
Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) is an American professional stock car racing organization owned and operated by former Washington Redskins (today the Washington Commanders) coach Joe Gibbs, which first started racing on the NASCAR circuit in 1991. His s ...
since 2005. The car has been driven by
Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
since 2006.
* FedEx previously sponsored the
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
teams
Benetton (1996–1999),
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
(1999–2001),
Williams F1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, currently racing in Formula One as Williams Racing, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded by former team owner Frank Williams and automotive engineer Patrick Head ...
(2002–2006), and
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
(2007–2008).
Football
* From 1989 to 2010, FedEx was the title sponsor of the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...
, played in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
.
*
FedEx Field
FedExField (originally Jack Kent Cooke Stadium) is an American football stadium located in Summerfield, Maryland, east of Washington, D.C. The stadium is the home of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). From 2004 un ...
, home of the National Football League's
Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...
in
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 25,998.
Landover is contained between Sheriff Road and Central Avenue to the so ...
Other sports
![FedExForum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/FedExForum.jpg)
* FedEx sponsors
FedExForum
FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ga ...
, home of the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
's
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...
and the
University of Memphis
}
The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...
men's basketball team.
* FedEx sponsors the
Heineken Cup
The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...
in rugby for the European markets only.
* Beginning in 2007, FedEx became the title sponsor of the
FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is a championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Announced in November 2005, it was first awarded in 2007. Rory McIlroy is the 2022 champion. Th ...
, a championship trophy for the
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
.
* The
WGC-Fedex St. Jude Invitational
The WGC Invitational was a professional golf tournament that was held in the United States. Established in 1999 as a successor to the World Series of Golf, it was one of three or four annual World Golf Championships (WGC) until 2021, when the num ...
, a PGA Tour golf tournament and one of the four
World Golf Championships
The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...
held in Memphis, has been sponsored by FedEx from 1986 to 2006, in 2009, and currently since 2011.
* FedEx was the main sponsor of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
since the 2015–21 cycle outside of the
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
markets.
* FedEx becomes the main global sponsors of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and the
UEFA Super Cup
The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was originall ...
,
UEFA Youth League
The UEFA Youth League is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) since 2013. In its current format, it is contested by the youth teams of the clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League ...
and the
UEFA Futsal Champions League
The UEFA Futsal Champions League is an annual futsal competition for European club teams organized by UEFA. It was founded as the UEFA Futsal Cup in 2001 and replaced the Futsal European Clubs Championship, an unofficial competition held since 1984 ...
starting in the 2021–24 cycle.
Reputation
The firm was named by
''Fortune'' magazine as one of the top 100 companies to work for in 2013, citing the company's choice to downsize with voluntary buyouts rather than involuntary layoffs.
Corporate affairs
Board of directors
, the FedEx Corporation board of directors is:
* Marvin Ellison:
Chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
,
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
,
Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
*
Tricia Griffith
Tricia Griffith (born October 1964) is an American business executive who currently serves as the president and chief executive officer of The Progressive Corporation.
Early life and education
Griffith attended Illinois State University for her ...
: President and CEO,
The Progressive Corporation
* Kimberly A. Jabal: Former
CFO
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
,
Unity Technologies
Unity Software Inc. (doing business as Unity Technologies) is a video game software development company based in San Francisco. It was founded in Denmark in 2004 as Over the Edge Entertainment (OTEE) and changed its name in 2007. Unity Technolo ...
*
Shirley Ann Jackson
Shirley Ann Jackson, (born August 5, 1946) is an American physicist, and was the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is the first African-American woman to have earned a doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...
: President,
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...
* R. Brad Martin: Chairman, RBM Ventures
*
Fred Perpall
Fred Perpall is an American business executive. He is best known as the first black person to be nominated as president-elect of the United States Golf Association.
Since 2013, Perpall has served as CEO of The Beck Group, a US-based internatio ...
: CEO,
The Beck Group
The Beck Group is a company that provides architecture, construction, real estate development, and sustainable design and consulting, as well as finance and technology services. The company is based in Dallas, Texas and also has offices in Atlant ...
*
Joshua Cooper Ramo
Joshua Cooper Ramo (born December 14, 1968) is vice chairman and co-chief executive of Kissinger Associates, the consulting firm of former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He is also the author of several non-fiction books including two ...
: Chairman and CEO, Sornay LLC
*
Susan Schwab
Susan Carol Schwab (born March 23, 1955) is an American politician, who served under President George W. Bush as United States Trade Representative from June, 2006 to January, 2009. She is not related to Charles R. Schwab Sr., founder of the Char ...
:
Professor Emerita
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
,
University of Maryland School of Public Policy
The Maryland School of Public Policy is one of 14 schools at the University of Maryland, College Park. The school is located inside the Capital Beltway and ranks 16th nationally for schools of public policy according to '' U.S. News & World Report ...
*
Frederick W. Smith
Frederick Wallace Smith (born August 11, 1944) is an American business magnate and investor. He is the founder and chairman of FedEx Corporation, the world's largest transportation company. On June 1, 2022, Smith stepped down as CEO to become exe ...
: Founder and Executive Chairman, FedEx Corporation
*
David P. Steiner: Former CEO,
Waste Management, Inc.
Waste Management, Inc., doing business as WM, is a waste management, comprehensive waste, and environmental services company operating in North America. Founded in 1968, the company is headquartered in the Bank of America Tower in Houston, Tex ...
*
Raj Subramaniam
Rajesh Subramaniam is the CEO and President-elect of the FedEx Corporation. Prior to this position, he held many organizational management and marketing roles in Asia and the US at FedEx.
Early life and education
Subramaniam was born in Thiruvan ...
: President and CEO, FedEx Corporation
*
Paul S. Walsh
Paul Steven Walsh (born 15 May 1955) is an English businessman who is the executive chairman of the McLaren Group. He was the chief executive of Diageo, the world's largest whisky company, for twelve years between 2000 and 2013.
Walsh was criti ...
:
Executive chairman
The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
,
McLaren Group Limited
Finance
For the fiscal year 2020, FedEx reported earnings of US$1.286 billion, with an annual revenue of US$69.217 billion, a decline of 0.7% over the previous fiscal cycle. FedEx's shares traded at over $273 per share, and its market capitalization was valued at over US$2,459 billion in December 2020. FedEx ranked No. 50 in the 2018
Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Environmental practices and initiatives
In early March 2021, FedEx announced plans to make its operations carbon-neutral by 2040. It's investing $2 billion in sustainable energy initiatives, including $100M for a new Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and upgrading its aircraft and ground transportation fleets. It will be the first customer to take delivery of GM's electric
Zevo delivery vans, as part of the goal of an all-electric ground fleet by 2040.
FedEx currently takes responsibility for contributing to climate change through
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
and
FedEx Ground
FedEx Ground, a subsidiary of the FedEx Corporation, is an American ground package delivery company headquartered in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The company began as Roadway Package System (RPS), founded in 1985 by ...
services. Their use of kerosene jet-fuel to power their airplanes and diesel to power their trucks emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. FedEx's emissions from its global transportation services contribute to air pollution. This increase in air pollution, including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, impacts human health including respiratory issues, heart disease and cancer. The combustion of jet fuel from airplanes releases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which are all harmful to the environment and are a contributing factor to climate change. Similarly, the combustion of diesel in trucks releases these same hazardous gases into the atmosphere.
FedEx's initiatives to be carbon-neutral by 2040 will allow them to reduce their negative contributions to climate change drastically, however they may fall short of this goal. As mentioned in their 2021 10-K filling, they are at risk of being unable to achieve being carbon neutral by 2040 due to potential inability to execute the business operations as planned. Such risks are the costs associated with vehicle electrification and renewable energies. Additionally, the pace at which research and technological developments occur at pose a threat to FedEx's goal. In the event of this happening, FedEx will continue to emit carbon dioxide and other harmful gases into the atmosphere through their use of diesel and kerosene jet-fuel to power their vehicles.
Success of Current Environmental Practices
FedEx's current practices have allowed them to avoid several amounts of emissions. Their current fleet of electric vehicles and more efficient delivery routes have avoided roughly 950,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, through the FedEx Fuel Sense program, FedEx was able to save about 221 million gallons of fuel and avoided nearly 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Political donations and lobbying
According to
OpenSecrets
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...
, FedEx Corp is the 174th largest campaign contributor in the United States, having donated over $35.96 million to federal candidates and committees since 1990, 37% of which went to Democrats and 63% to Republicans.
Strong ties to the White House and members of Congress allow access to international trade and tax cut rebates as well as the rules of the business practices of the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
. In 2001, FedEx sealed a $9 billion deal with the
USPS
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...
to transport all of the post office's overnight and express deliveries.
In 2005, FedEx was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to sponsor the second inauguration of President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.
During the 2018 calendar year, FedEx spent nearly $10.2 million
lobbying
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agency, regulatory agencie ...
the
federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
,
its lowest total since 2008 but more than any other company in the air transport industry.
SCAC codes
The
Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) is a unique code used to identify transportation companies. It is typically two to four alphabetic letters long. It was developed by the
National Motor Freight Traffic Association The National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA) is a nonprofit membership organization headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, United States. Its members are motor carriers operating in interstate, intrastate and foreign commerce. The associat ...
in the 1960s to help the transportation industry for computerizing data and records. FedEx's codes include:
* FXE – FedEx Express
* FXSP – FedEx SmartPost
* FXG – FedEx Ground
* FXFE – FedEx Freight
* FDCC – FedEx Custom Critical
* FXO – FedEx Office
* FSDC – FedEx Same Day City
Controversies and incidents
Labor relations
In December 2007, the U.S.
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
"tentatively decided" the FedEx Ground Division might be facing a tax liability of $319 million for 2002, due to misclassification of its operatives as independent contractors. Reversing a 1994 decision which allowed FedEx to classify its operatives that own their own vehicles as independent contractors, the IRS audited the years 2003 to 2006, with a view to assessing whether similar misclassification of operatives had taken place. FedEx denied that any irregularities in classification had occurred, but faced legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued had they been classified as employees.
In June 2009, FedEx began a campaign against UPS and the
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the u ...
union, accusing its competitor of receiving a
bailout
A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy.
A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...
in an advertising campaign called "
Brown Bailout
Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the RGB ...
". FedEx claimed that signing the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
re-authorization bill, which would let some of its workers
unionize
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
more easily (and, according to the Memphis-based company, "could expose
tscustomers at any time to local
work stoppage
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
s that interrupted the flow of their time-sensitive, high-value shipments"),
['Brown Bailout?' Hardly](_blank)
FactCheck.org was equivalent to giving UPS a "bailout". Independent observers heavily criticized FedEx's wording,
claiming that it was "an abuse of the term".
FedEx Express employees are regulated under the
Railway Labor Act
The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law on US labor law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration, and media ...
.
In July 2020, the
Air Line Pilots Association International (ALPA), the union that represents FedEx Corp pilots, called for a suspension on the company's Hong Kong operations. According to the union, some members were subject to "extremely difficult conditions" at hospitals urged by government mandates due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. FedEx was criticized more broadly for providing inadequate protections and
sick leave
Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...
during the pandemic.
Allegations of controlled substances distribution
On July 17, 2014, FedEx was indicted for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in cooperation with the Chhabra-Smoley Organization and Superior Drugs. According to the U.S.
Department of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
, "FedEx is alleged to have knowingly and intentionally conspired to distribute controlled substances and prescription drugs, including
Phendimetrazine
Phendimetrazine (Bontril, Adipost, Anorex-SR, Appecon, Melfiat, Obezine, Phendiet, Plegine, Prelu-2, Statobex) is a stimulant drug of the morpholine chemical class used as an appetite suppressant.
Pharmacology
Phendimetrazine functions as a p ...
(Schedule III);
Ambien
Zolpidem, sold under the brand name Ambien, among others, is a medication primarily used for the short-term treatment of sleeping problems. Guidelines recommend that it be used only after cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and behaviora ...
,
Phentermine
Phentermine ( phenyl- tertiary-butyl amine), with several brand names including Ionamin and Sentis, is a medication used together with diet and exercise to treat obesity. It is taken by mouth for up to a few weeks at a time, after which the ben ...
,
Diazepam
Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
, and
Alprazolam
Alprazolam, sold under the brand name Xanax, among others, is a fast-acting, potent tranquilizer of medium duration in the triazolobenzodiazepine (TBZD) class, which are benzodiazepines (BZDs) fused with a triazole ring. It is most commonly u ...
(Schedule IV), to customers who had no legitimate medical need for them based on invalid prescriptions issued by doctors who were acting outside the usual course of professional practice." A representative for the company contested these claims, stating that it would violate personal rights of customers to deny service and that "We are a transportation company — we are not law enforcement". On July 17, 2016 the Department of Justice U.S. Attorney's Office confirmed in a statement that it had asked U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer to dismiss the indictment but also did not say why.
Illegal parking criticism
Safe streets activists have criticized FedEx, along with other parcel delivery services, for frequently illegally parking their vehicles in bike lanes while making deliveries, a practice that endangers cyclists.
They were criticized alongside peers in a letter from
Washington, D.C.'s transportation agency in 2018.
Criticism of NRA partnership
FedEx was criticized for its partnership with the
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...
, which it terminated in 2018 under pressure from activists.
Huawei package delivery dispute
On June 1, 2019, China filed a case against FedEx for allegedly undermining the rights of Chinese clients. The investigation stemmed from allegations by
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
that FedEx attempted to divert the shipping route of its packages without the company's prior authorization.
which in turn have been denied by FedEx.
It has been reported that FedEx refused to deliver a used Huawei phone into the US. Writers at
PC Magazine
''PC Magazine'' (shortened as ''PCMag'') is an American computer magazine published by Ziff Davis. A print edition was published from 1982 to January 2009. Publication of online editions started in late 1994 and have continued to the present d ...
tried to ship a
Huawei P30
Huawei P30 is a line of Android-based smartphones manufactured by Huawei. Unveiled on 26 March 2019, they succeed the Huawei P20 in the company's P series line.
Specifications Hardware
Their designs are similar to those of the P20. The P30 P ...
from a UK office to a US one to find it sent back a few days later.
In July 2019, China accused FedEx of holding back more than 100 packages that Huawei was trying to deliver to China. Chinese regulators said that the company committed "violations" when it diverted Huawei parcels.
Allegations of tax avoidance
In December 2019,
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
listed FedEx along with 378 additional
''Fortune'' 500 companies that "paid an effective federal tax rate of 0% or less" as a result of the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs A ...
. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that FedEx paid $1.5 billion in taxes after the 2017 fiscal year (effective tax rate of 34%) and then $0 after the 2018 fiscal year (effective tax rate of 0%) as a result of lobbying done by the company.
Mass shooting at Indianapolis facility
A FedEx Ground facility was the site of a mass shooting in Indianapolis on April 15, 2021, causing nine deaths (including the perpetrator) and at least 6 injuries. FedEx released a statement early the next morning, saying they were "deeply saddened" by the loss of their team members.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1971 establishments in Arkansas
1970s initial public offerings
American companies established in 1971
Companies based in Memphis, Tennessee
Companies in the Dow Jones Transportation Average
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Express mail
Logistics companies of the United States
Trucking companies of the United States
Multinational companies headquartered in the United States
Transport companies established in 1971
Transportation companies based in Arkansas
Transportation companies based in Tennessee