FedEx builds international trade empire

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 7/1/2000

FedEx Corp., parent of FedEx Express and several other transportation and logistics-management companies, is swiftly building international trade-related expertise through both acquisitions and investments. The current focus on trade facilitation appears to be companywide.

Last year, the company formed FedEx Trade Networks Inc. with the express purpose of acquiring expertise in customs brokerage, international trade consulting, trade information technology, and international trade facilitation. The foundation of the new venture is Tower Group International, one of the largest customs brokers and trade consultants in the United States, which FedEx bought from McGraw Hill earlier this year.

In April, FedEx Trade Networks bought San Francisco-based Worldtariff Ltd., a provider of worldwide customs-duty and tax information. Worldtariff tracks that information for more than 100 countries, making it available in English translation to subscribers online or in print. The company also has a European subsidiary, which maintains the customs-duty database for the European Commission.

FedEx is not limiting its international trade forays to its Trade Networks subsidiary. Late last year, FedEx Corp. invested several million dollars in TradeCompass, a Washington, D.C.-based provider of international trade information, including shipment tracking and carrier performance monitoring.

In May, FedEx Express, the company's core express transportation business, announced that it had created the International Resource Center (IRC) on its Web site (www.fedex.com). The site is useful for any shipper involved in international trade but is specifically aimed at companies that are new to international business. The information goes beyond simple transportation and shipment data. Among the IRC's offerings: software for completing export forms online; a searchable database of U.S. customs laws and product classifications; export/import trade leads; an "export readiness" self-assessment section; daily trade news updates; and a library of research tools, including a directory of U.S. exporters, statistical sources, and a trade dictionary. Some of the center's information is provided by TradeCompass; other sources include U.S., Canadian, and European Union government agencies.