FedEx

FedEx Corporation began as Federal Express, founded in 1971 by Frederick W. Smith. Smith had explored the idea of a centralized airfreight network while studying at Yale, and chose Memphis, Tennessee, as the hub for the new company. Federal Express launched overnight operations in April 1973, using 14 aircraft to deliver 186 packages to 25 U.S. cities on its first night. Memphis remained central to the network: packages arriving from different places could be sorted there and sent back out on departing flights. The company built its reputation on time-definite delivery rather than the slower schedules typical of conventional freight.

A major change came in 1977, when U.S. airline deregulation allowed Federal Express to use larger aircraft on more routes. In 1983, it reported annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, achieved without mergers or acquisitions. The company expanded internationally, and its 1989 purchase of Flying Tiger Line added aircraft, personnel and routes across the Pacific. Federal Express also invested in tracking technology. Its handheld SuperTracker devices, introduced in the 1980s, scanned package barcodes so shipment information could be recorded as parcels moved through the network. Customers later gained access to tracking through the company’s website.

The familiar FedEx name, long used informally, became the company’s official brand in 1994. Four years later, its acquisition of Caliber System brought in Roadway Package System, a ground-delivery business. The parent company took the name FedEx Corporation, while its air-delivery operation became FedEx Express and Roadway Package System became FedEx Ground. These were distinct networks serving different shipping needs. FedEx entered another line of business in 2004 by acquiring Kinko’s, the chain of printing and copying stores. Those locations were subsequently renamed FedEx Office, offering document services alongside shipping and package drop-off.

FedEx’s growth also involved purchases outside the United States. In 2016, it completed its acquisition of TNT Express, a Netherlands-based delivery company with an extensive European road network. Integrating TNT gave FedEx a broader presence in European parcel delivery, though the process took years. Smith, who had led the business for decades, stepped down as chief executive in 2022; Raj Subramaniam succeeded him. In June 2024, FedEx consolidated FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Services into a single company called Federal Express Corporation, while FedEx Freight remained separate. From its first overnight flights out of Memphis to that restructuring, FedEx’s history reflects successive changes to the networks it uses to move and track shipments.