FedEx Ground opens 5th package facility in Chicago area

FedEx Ground has opened its fifth major package sorting and delivery station in the Chicago area of the United States. The new 20,000 square metre facility in Grayslake, Illinois, features the latest automated material handling tecnology for sorting 63,000 packages and dispatching up to 130 vehicles a day for deliveries in the Midwest area.

The $38m facility will use around 200 full-time and part-time staff, and could require a further 300 when it is operating at full capacity.

FedEx, which is seeing strong growth at the moment in its FedEx Ground services within the US, said the new distribution centre is part of an ongoing nationwide expansion and transit time acceleration plan.

The plan seeks to boost daily package volume capacity and improve the speed and service capabilities of the network.

Accelerating

It continues FedEx Ground’s expansion plan that has been ongoing since 2002, since when 10 new major hubs have opened or relocated along with 500 local facilities.

Speeding up ground delivery by a day or more within half of the United States, FedEx Ground now delivers more than 60% of its packages within two days, and more than 80% within three days, the company said.

Daily package volumes have doubled since 2002, from 1.75m to more than 3.7m per day in the US and Canada.

FedEx Ground reported a $8.4bn annual turnover in its fiscal year 2011.

“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.”