Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

FedEx marks 50-year anniversary with community service push

Milestone falls weeks after company launched cost-saving corporate consolidation plan.

fedex 20230330-01C-FEDEX_MR_SMITH_SH01_S_140_Q-sRGB.jpeg

Parcel powerhouse FedEx Corp. today marked the 50th anniversary of its founding, coming just weeks after the company made some fundamental changes to prepare for future growth.

Founded by Frederick W. Smith in 1973, the Memphis-based logistics provider now connects over 220 countries and territories, employs over 530,000 people, and is the second-highest revenue earner of all U.S. parcel carriers, behind only UPS Inc.


Even with that market leverage, FedEx says it needs to continually evolve to modern business conditions. Now holding the title of executive chairman, Smith stepped down as president in 2018 and as CEO in 2022, handling the keys to the corporate delivery van to Raj Subramaniam.

And earlier this month, Subramaniam unveiled a cost-cutting plan that will consolidate most of its operating companies into a single organization, bringing FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services, and other FedEx operating companies into an umbrella unit called Federal Express Corp. The lone exception to the realignment is FedEx Freight, which will continue to provide less-than-truckload (LTL) freight transportation services as a stand-alone company under that parent organization.

That consolidation isn’t expected to be complete until June 2024, and in the meantime, the company is celebrating its heritage. To mark the anniversary, FedEx has arranged for various facilities and airports to be lit up in its signature orange and purple colors. And employees are delivering a day of community service opportunities by volunteering their time and donating items to agencies in need.

Examples include the culmination of 50 Days of Caring—a fifty-day countdown of community service works—and the completion of its “FedEx Cares 50 by 50” goal, a plan launched in 2019 to positively impact 50 million people by its 50th birthday.

In addition, the company today announced the “Founder’s Fund,” a philanthropic endowment created to honor Smith and his legacy as a business leader and changemaker in communities around the world. Its corporate philanthropic arm, FedEx Cares, is committing $2 million to kick off the fund and envisions annual beneficiaries to include innovative veteran entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations chosen by team members for their outstanding volunteer engagement.

 

 

Recent

More Stories

ATRI releases annual list of nation’s top truck bottlenecks

ATRI releases annual list of nation’s top truck bottlenecks

New Jersey is home to the most congested freight bottleneck in the country for the seventh straight year, according to research from the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), released today.

ATRI’s annual list of the Top 100 Truck Bottlenecks aims to highlight the nation’s most congested highways and help local, state, and federal governments target funding to areas most in need of relief. The data show ways to reduce chokepoints, lower emissions, and drive economic growth, according to the researchers.

Keep ReadingShow less

Featured

chart of warehouse rents

Colliers: warehouse construction rates return to pre-pandemic levels

It’s getting a little easier to find warehouse space in the U.S., as the frantic construction pace of recent years declined to pre-pandemic levels in the fourth quarter of 2024, in line with rising vacancies, according to a report from real estate firm Colliers.

Those trends played out as the gap between new building supply and tenants’ demand narrowed during 2024, the firm said in its “U.S. Industrial Market Outlook Report / Q4 2024.” By the numbers, developers delivered 400 million square feet for the year, 34% below the record 607 million square feet completed in 2023. And net absorption, a key measure of demand, declined by 27%, to 168 million square feet.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of trucking costs per mile

Uber Freight: Trump tariffs will likely be avoided after pause ends in March

As U.S. businesses count down the days until the expiration of the Trump Administration’s monthlong pause of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, a report from Uber Freight says the tariffs will likely be avoided through an extended agreement, since the potential for damaging consequences would be so severe for all parties.

If the tariffs occurred, they could push U.S. inflation higher, adding $1,000 to $1,200 to the average person's cost of living. And relief from interest rates would likely not come to the rescue, since inflation is already above the Fed's target, delaying further rate cuts.

Keep ReadingShow less
chart of container imports at US ports

Descartes: U.S. container imports reached a record for the month of January

Against a backdrop of tariff volatility and uncertain business conditions, U.S. container imports reached a record for the month of January at 2,487,470 TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units), according to a report from supply chain software vendor Descartes.

The surge comes as the U.S. imposed a new 10% tariff on Chinese goods as of February 4, while pausing a more aggressive 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada until March, Descartes said in its “February Global Shipping Report.”

Keep ReadingShow less
supply chain pro using multiple screens

Cofactr acquires Factor.io to speed procurement for hardware manufacturers

Supply chain software vendor Cofactr said Thursday that it has acquired the AI-based solution provider Factor.io in a move it said will enable faster procurement and reduce logistical delays for its clients.

According to Cofactr, Factor.io automates the ordering and tracking of manufacturers’ complete list of materials, components and parts—across the hundreds of suppliers that produce and assemble them—so they can more efficiently move from sourcing and shipping to finished goods.

Keep ReadingShow less