FedEx Trade Networks continues global expansion

FedEx subsidiary FedEx Trade Networks, the company’s global trade arm, recently announced it has opened offices in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and Hamburg and Frankfurt, Germany.

FedEx Trade Networks has opened 28 new freight forwarding offices throughout Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America since its global expansion push kicked off in 2008, as well as more than 60 locations in the United States and Canada.

FedEx Trade Networks offers a full range of international ocean and air freight forwarding services. Features of service include: door-to-door (DTD), airport-to-airport (ATA), airport-to-door (ATD), door-to- airport (DTA), port-to-port (PTP), port to-door (PTD) and door-to-port (DTP). It also provides customs brokerage, warehousing, surface transportation services, as well as online visibility and specialized options, like Global Order Logistics.
Company officials said these new offices represent the latest step in its plan to establish operations in some of the world’s most significant freight forwarding markets.

“We decided to open offices in Rotterdam, Hamburg and the Netherlands for two main reasons,” a FedEx spokesperson told LM. “First, we want to provide our growing customer base across the globe with regional access to support in their local language and time zone. For that reason, we have opened 28 offices across the globe since 2008 and we are continuing to grow.”

The spokesperson added that Germany and the Netherlands are very important markets for FedEx Trade Networks, noting that more than 60 percent of the Netherlands’ GDP is generated by foreign trade in goods and services and the country has an advanced infrastructure geared toward the transportation of goods. Rotterdam, in particular, she said, has been a hub of international trade and commerce for centuries and serves as a gateway to a continent of more than 500 million consumers, and she also said it is by far the largest seaport in Europe and can be accessed by the very largest ocean-going vessels 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

As the fifth largest economy in the world and the largest in Europe, Fed Ex said Germany has long been considered a global financial center and is the world’s second largest exporter of goods, only recently surpassed by China.

“Germany is also the largest trading partner of each country in Europe and is the gateway to the Central and Eastern European markets,” said the spokesperson. “Our new offices in Hamburg and Frankfurt will allow us to expand our service offerings throughout the continent. The port of Hamburg is strategically situated on the Elbe River shipping channel and is a vital transshipment center for cargo arriving from or destined for Asia, Eastern Europe and the Baltic Sea states. CargoCity Frankfurt is one of the world’s top ten airports in terms of freight volume and has emerged as one of the world’s top cargo hubs, rivaling such cities as Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.”

When asked what the main benefits of this expansion are for shippers, the spokesperson said they will benefit from the close coordination and collaboration between FedEx Trade Networks and FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight to provide customers with flexibility for their international trade needs with the same reliable FedEx service standards.

And in addition to the increased access to the FedEx global network and seamless support across other FedEx operating companies in each market,  the spokesperson said customers of FedEx Trade Networks will also benefit from enhanced global freight forwarding services and end-to-end multimodal solutions; direct access to local personnel with industry experience and local expertise to meet customer needs; expanded regional access to services including FedEx International DirectDistribution and Global Order Logistics; and trade and customs advisory services and online trade tools such as WorldTariff and My Global Trade Data.

“Rotterdam and Hamburg are two of Europe’s largest seaports and Frankfurt serves as an important air cargo gateway to Central Europe,” said Fred Schardt, president and CEO of FedEx Trade Networks, in a statement. “With our new offices in these key markets, we continue to provide our growing customer base with the service and operational support they need and the expertise they require.”