Fedex ground celebrates opening of fifth major chicagoland
distribution facility in grayslake
Pittsburgh--(business wire)--fedex ground, the small-package ground unit of fedex corp., (nyse: fdx), today is celebrating the opening of a new package sorting and delivery station that is the fifth major facility for the company in the chicago area. the 214,000-square-foot facility is located on rt. 83 (ivanhoe road) north of peterson road in grayslake, ill., and joins four others in serving the ground shipping needs of chicagoland. the station features the latest automated material handling technology for sorting packages and dispatching up to 130 vans per day to make deliveries in the area. the workforce at opening includes more than 200 full-time and part-time employees and could grow to almost 500 when the facility is operating at full capacity. 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. since embarking on the expansion plan in 2002, fedex ground has opened 10 new major hubs and/or relocated more than 500 local facilities. 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 60% of packages in two days or less and more than 80% 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. “enhancing our distribution capability in the midwest is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the size, speed and efficiency of our network,” said bob f. wilson, vice president of the central region for fedex ground. “this new facility will enable us to meet the growing demand of local shippers and transport shipments across the country.” several local government agencies, including the village of grayslake, lake county, the local school districts and fire protection district all worked together to enable fedex to develop this site. the collaboration among the various partners was coordinated by lake county partners, the local, independent economic development organization. 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.
