Fedex ground celebrates opening of new greensboro area distribution
hub
Pittsburgh--(business wire)--fedex ground, the small-package ground unit of fedex corp., (nyse: fdx), today is celebrating the opening of a new $100 million major distribution hub in kernersville, nc. the 410,000 square-foot facility is located on a 125-acre site at old greensboro road and west market street. the hub features the latest automated material handling technology that moves packages at 540 feet per minute along nearly 15 miles of conveyor belts, processing 15,000 packages per hour. with a projected future expansion, the hub could eventually process 45,000 packages per hour. the current workforce includes more than 550 full-time and part-time employees and about 200 independent contractor opportunities. "we're very excited to begin full operations at the new, fully automated greensboro hub. this facility is an important milestone in fedex ground's nationwide network expansion," said john c. payne, senior vice president of linehaul, maintenance and safety for fedex ground. “enhancing our distribution capacity in the southeast region is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the size, speed and efficiency of our network. the new facility will join existing hub facilities in charlotte, atlanta, orlando and nashville in serving the southeast region and its expanding presence in the transportation and logistics businesses." the new fedex ground distribution center is part of an ongoing nationwide network expansion and transit time acceleration plan to boost daily package volume capacity and further enhance the speed and service capabilities of its network. it is the eleventh new hub opened since 2002 while more than 500 local facilities have been expanded or relocated. the network enhancement plan has resulted in accelerating ground delivery service by one day or more in more than half of the united states. fedex ground now delivers more than 61% of packages in two days or less and more than 82% of packages in three days or less. additionally, average daily package volume has more than doubled since 2002, from 1.75 million to more than 3.7 million today. about fedex ground fedex ground specializes in cost-effective, small-package ground shipping, offering dependable business-to-business delivery or convenient residential service. with a network of more than 500 distribution hubs and local pickup-and-delivery terminals, fedex ground has a workforce of more than 70,000 employees and independent contractors who use more than 20,000 motorized vehicles to deliver over 3.7 million packages daily throughout the united states and canada. the company reported annual revenue of $8.4 billion in fiscal year 2011. about fedex corp. fedex corp. (nyse: fdx) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. with annual revenues of $40 billion, the company offers integrated business applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the respected fedex brand. consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, fedex inspires its more than 290,000 employees and contractors to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. for more information, visit news.fedex.com. certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements, such as statements relating to management's views with respect to future events and financial performance. such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience or from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic conditions in the global markets in which we operate, new u.s. domestic or international government regulation, the impact from any terrorist activities or international conflicts, our ability to effectively operate, integrate and leverage acquired businesses, the impact of changes in fuel prices and currency exchange rates, our ability to match capacity to shifting volume levels and other factors which can be found in fedex corp.'s and its subsidiaries' press releases and filings with the sec.
