FedEx Freight formally opens Vancouver service center

FedEx Freight, the less-than-truckload (LTL) subsidiary of FedEx last week held the grand opening of its new multi-million dollar Vancouver, British Columbia service center, which it said will connect the Western Canada LTL sector and customers through north-south, east-west and global shipping lanes.

Company officials said that the new service center handles FedEx Freight shipments coast-to-coast through Canada, intra-BC and Alberta, as well as connecting international markets via road delivery and ocean networks like the Port of Vancouver.

“The planning for this new service center included an evaluation period of about two years,” FedEx Freight Vice President, International Grant Crawford told LM. “The development of this center provides additional capacity for long-term growth of existing cross-border business (between Canada and the U.S.), it helps us to better serve domestic Canadian business in the western region, and it provides us and our customers with access to traffic to and from the port in British Columbia for ocean shipments.”

This new facility, which is located on 16.42 acres, has been operational since January 2013 and has 77 cargo doors and more than 45 employees.

Crawford said that in addition to being able to make reliable connections in north-south, east-west and global shipping lanes, FedEx Freight’s Western Canadian customers also have access to one of the fastest LTL shipping networks in the U.S., where FedEx Freight Priority has the fastest published transit times of any nationwide LTL service. FedEx Freight provides direct coverage to most points in Canada (approximately 95 percent), and Crawford said its Freight International Services team works hard to speed up the border clearance process for cross-border freight shipments. This expansion also provides its customers with better access to the broad, FedEx portfolio of services in Western Canada that include FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Trade Networks, among others, he stated.

“This new facility further extends the reliable freight shipping in Canada for which FedEx Freight is known, and it joins a network of over 360 service centers throughout North America,” he explained. “With other openings in Calgary and Toronto, FedEx Freight has demonstrated our commitment to the Canadian market and our desire to provide exceptional LTL (less-than-truckload) service for Canadian and North American customers alike.”

Fiscal third quarter revenue for FedEx Freight at $1.24 billion was up 0.8 percent from $1.23 billion last year, with an operating margin of 0.3 percent compared to -0.1 percent a year ago. FedEx Freight had an operating income of $4 million which was ahead of last year’s operating loss of $1 million.

FedEx Freight yield was up 2 percent due to improvements in its FedEx Freight economy yields, and average daily shipments rose 1 percent due to higher customer demand for the FedEx Freight Economy service offering for all lengths of haul. And daily LTL shipments rose 1 percent. Weight per LTL shipment was flat at 1,154 pounds, and composite LTL yield—at $20.03—was up 2.3 percent. The company pointed out that the quarter had two fewer operating days but Freight was still able to have higher operating income and margins due to gains in yield and volume along with operational efficiencies.