FedEx Archives: 2002 Press Releases

( BW)(TN-FEDEX)(FDX) FedEx Ready for This Week's Surge of Holiday Packages; Year-High Volumes Expected to Exceed 6.6 Million Dec. 19

    Consumers can put their confidence in FedEx express and ground services to the test as the company handles the holiday surge of packages. Dec. 19 is expected to be the busiest night of the year for FedEx Express when the world's largest express-transportation company handles more than 4.4 million packages. This compares to average daily volume of about 3 million packages.

    FedEx Express and FedEx Ground expect to transport more than 6.6 million packages through their networks on the busiest day.

    Consumers can ship packages using FedEx Ground for delivery from one to five business days or use FedEx Express for gifts requiring a tighter delivery deadline. FedEx Ground encourages customers to drop off packages no later than Dec. 17 for deliveries before Christmas. Dec. 23 is the last day to ship packages with FedEx Express for delivery on Christmas Eve.

    Business Gearing Up for Shopping

    Companies such as L.L. Bean in Freeport, Maine, depend on FedEx services for online and catalog orders. L.L. Bean is using FedEx Express and FedEx Home Delivery(R) to ship hundreds of thousands of packages this holiday season, including an anticipated 125,000 packages on its busiest day leading up to the holiday. L.L. Bean is guaranteeing delivery by Christmas if customers order by 6 p.m. Dec. 21.

    Batdorf & Bronson, a specialty coffee roaster based in Olympia, Wash., is seeing a 25 percent overall sales increase this holiday across its retail, wholesale and mail order business. The company uses FedEx services to ship its 20 coffee varieties to customers coast-to-coast.

    "Freshness is critical to premium coffee, so when a customer places an order we then roast the beans and use FedEx Express Saver(R) for three-day delivery because it's the best and most economical way for us to ship," said Carolyn Skye, the company's promotions coordinator. "Our customers also have the advantage of being able to track their FedEx shipments online."

    fedex.com Shipping to Hit New Record

    The convenience of fedex.com continues to be a popular and growing FedEx access point for consumers and businesses. Shipping on fedex.com this holiday is expected to more than double for the second year in a row, hitting a record mark of more than 600,000 transactions on Dec. 23. FedEx also anticipates a daily peak of about 3 million online-tracking requests in the days leading up to Christmas.

    In addition to finding the right service for their holiday-shipping needs, customers can go to www.fedex.com to access FedEx locations, shipping rates and drop-off deadlines for holiday- package delivery. The Web site includes holiday-shipping tips, including packaging advice.

    About FedEx Corporation

    With annual revenues of $21 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including: FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Freight, the largest U.S. provider of regional less-than-truckload freight services; FedEx Custom Critical, North America's largest provider of expedited time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs clearance, international freight forwarding and trade facilitation.

                     FedEx Holiday Shipping Facts


Best in the Industry

    --  J.D. Power and Associates, the premier global market- and
        customer-satisfaction research firm, on Dec. 10 named FedEx
        Corp. the best in customer satisfaction for air, ground and
        international small-package delivery.


Package Deadlines

    --  FedEx Ground: Dec. 17 drop off for delivery before Christmas.

    --  FedEx Express: Dec. 23 drop off for delivery before Christmas.


Busiest Night of the Year

    --  FedEx Express: Dec. 19, more than 4.4 million express packages
        to be handled, compared to normal daily average of 3 million.

    --  FedEx Ground: Dec. 2 peak volume of more than 3 million
        packages, compared to normal daily average of more than 2
        million.

    --  Total Peak Volume: More than 6.6 million packages in both the
        FedEx Express and FedEx Ground networks on Dec. 19.


fedex.com Peak Activity

    --  More than 600,000 shipping transactions on Dec. 23, more than
        doubling last year's total.

    --  About 3 million tracking requests the days leading up to
        Christmas, compared to about 2.8 million average daily
        tracking transactions.

    --  www.fedex.com quick access point for all FedEx services.


FedEx Drop-Off Network

    --  56,000-plus FedEx Express drop-off points nationwide.

    --  More than 1,230 staffed FedEx drop-off locations.

    --  FedEx Authorized ShipCenters at more than 8,300 locations.

    --  More than 45,000 drop boxes, including:
          7,700 drop boxes at U.S. Post Offices;
          1,100 at Kinko's locations;
          472 at Staples locations; and
          More than 500 at Office Max/Copy Max locations.

    --30--SH/na*

    CONTACT: FedEx Corporation, Memphis
             Jim McCluskey, 901/434-7764

    KEYWORD: TENNESSEE MAINE WASHINGTON
    INDUSTRY KEYWORD: AIRLINES TRANSPORTATION PRODUCT
    SOURCE: FedEx Corporation