‘FedEx effect is a global phenomenon’

By , Daily Memphian Updated: October 25, 2022 3:13 PM CT | Published: October 25, 2022 1:45 PM CT

FedEx Corp. employed more than half a million people worldwide and delivered an average of 16 million packages daily in its latest fiscal year.

That’s according to an economic impact study that the Memphis-based shipping giant produced with Dun & Bradstreet, the first time FedEx has done such an evaluation.

“Every day, in every corner of the world, FedEx is connecting communities, moving goods and providing services that power the global economy,” FedEx president and CEO Raj Subramaniam said in a letter attached to the company’s 2022 Economic Impact Report, which was published Monday, Oct. 24. 


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“With operations in more than 220 countries and territories, the FedEx Effect is a global phenomenon,” Subramaniam said.

Dun & Bradstreet — whose database contains over 400 million business records worldwide — considered FedEx’s global economic contributions, including revenue, labor and GDP. 

For example, FedEx’s direct contributions to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Transportation, Storage and Communications sector accounted for 1.2% of the overall net economic output for this sector worldwide in the 2022 fiscal year. 

“This is a considerable contribution for a single company given the $8.2 trillion net economic output for these industries,” according to the report. “Looking across the entire $92 trillion global economy, FedEx direct contributions represented 0.1% in net output for all industries.”

The report also focused on FedEx’s indirect contributions to the global economy, including contracts and transactions with local, small businesses. In 2022, FedEx worked with more than 360,000 suppliers.


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Those suppliers, scattered across the globe, employed more than 16.5 million people, and the individual businesses had a combined annual revenue of $700 billion.

“As one of the world’s largest logistics and transportation specialists, FedEx has a significant impact on employment in related business areas,” the report states. 

FedEx employees accounted for nearly 1% of worldwide employees in the transportation and postal & courier services sectors, a significant contribution when considering the estimated 12 million businesses that operate within those sectors. 

FedEx also spent nearly $53 billion on its global supply chain through the company’s first three quarters, a 5% increase over the $50 billion spent during the entire 2021 fiscal year.

“This spending by FedEx provides a source of revenue to enable hiring, growth and investment by its supply chain vendors,” according to the report.


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For example, the number of jobs FedEx supported in its European supply chain grew 27% from 2021 through March 2022.

The number of jobs supported at FedEx suppliers grew 18% in the U.S. and 9% in the Americas region outside of the U.S.

Aside from assessing the company’s global impact, FedEx’s Economic Impact Report also gave insight into the company’s operations at home. 

According to FedEx, it is still Memphis’ largest employer, with local employment increasing by 3.5% in 2022 to more than 35,000 employees.

“Ideally located near the center of the country, the city of Memphis and Shelby County is the heart of the FedEx network,” the report states. 


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In addition to the $1.5 billion of ongoing investment to modernize the Memphis FedEx Express World Hub at the Memphis-Shelby County International Airport, FedEx Logistics opened its new headquarters in 2022, investing $50 million in the former Gibson Guitar Factory.

FedEx Ground capital investments in Memphis totaled $8 million between 2018 and 2022. 

Also in 2022, FedEx Ground contracted with 170 service provider small businesses for transportation, pickup and delivery services throughout Tennessee, including the Memphis market.

These businesses generate annual revenues of more than $266 million and employ more than 5,200 people as drivers, managers, helpers, and other staff, FedEx said. 

Topics

FedEx Corp. Dun & Bradstreet Memphis International Airport
Rob Moore

Rob Moore

Rob Moore covers North Mississippi for The Daily Memphian. He holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English from The University of Memphis.


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