FedEx Ground U.S. operations have been expanded to six days a week year-round in response to what the company calls “growing e-commerce demand and record influx of volume expected this holiday season and beyond.”
Raj Subramaniam, FedEx Corp. executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, said, “FedEx anticipated early on that the growth of e-commerce would significantly increase demand throughout our network, and we underwent a transformation by opening new facilities and investing in highly advanced technology and innovations that have resulted in the most automated network in the industry, delivering the speed and reliability our customers value highly. These significant facility and automation investments have been taking place for many years, but are now largely complete. This expanded capacity and increased efficiency will create margin and profitability benefits at the same time that FedEx Ground capital investment will be decreasing.”
FedEx said the record volume day in its history 10 years ago was 12 million shipments. Today, FedEx handles more than 14 million shipments on an average day.
The company said it anticipates a record amount of volume through its network again this year. “In order to deliver exceptional service during this busy time, FedEx will increase hours for some existing employees and hire for approximately 55,000 positions during the holiday season.”
FedEx Ground once again will run six- and seven-day operations through the holiday season and will continue six-day operations throughout its U.S. network year-round.
“The rise in demand for e-commerce goes beyond peak. It’s a year-round phenomenon and we are ready to meet that demand,” said Subramaniam. “FedEx Ground has operated six- and seven-day operations during the holidays for several years as e-commerce has grown, and thanks to strategic investments in our network, we are now well-positioned to operate six days a week in the U.S. all year to best serve the rapidly growing demand.”
Since 2005, as part of a network expansion plan to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of its network, FedEx Ground has opened 15 hubs featuring advanced material-handling systems. In the past five years, FedEx Ground has added nearly 36 million square feet to its network, including the opening of nine hubs and 58 automated stations.