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DALLAS—FedEx Corp., the second-largest US
package-delivery company, will build an $87-million
facility in Ohio as part of plans to double its North
American ground shipping capacity.
The
Perrysburg Township center will process 22,500 packages
an hour when it opens in 2009, and eventually expand to
twice that amount, Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx said
Tuesday in a statement. The 400,000-square-foot facility
replaces an existing operation in nearby Toledo, the
company said.
FedEx
Ground is the company’s second-largest unit, behind its
air express business, and produced almost 18 percent of
FedEx’s total revenue in the fiscal first quarter. The
new
Ohio hub is part of a $1.8-billion expansion started in
2002 to compete with United Parcel Service Inc., which
controls about 73 percent of the
US
ground-delivery market.
“Enhancing our distribution capacity in the
Midwest is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the
size, speed and efficiency of our network,” Michael
Mannion, senior vice president of operations for FedEx
Ground, said in the statement.
FedEx
Ground handles an average of about 3 million packages a
day. It has about 21 percent of the
US
ground-shipping market, according to SJ Consulting Group
Inc.
FedEx
workers at the
Toledo
facility will be transferred to the new
Perrysburg Township
operation, spokesman David Westrick said in an
interview. Employment will increase to more than 800
from the current 550, the company said.
FedEx
fell $3.20, or 3.2 per- cent, to $97.67 at 4:02 p.m. in
New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares
have fallen 10 percent this year. (Bloomberg) |
