Parcel shipping: FedEx Ground adds new Chicago-area location

FedEx recently announced building is underway for a Chicago-area package sorting and delivery station.

The new location will be based in Greyslake, Illinois and will be the fifth major Chicago area facility for FedEx. The other facilities are located in Bedford Park, Carol Stream, LaGrange, and Wheeling

The new facility will be comprised of 214,000 square feet and is scheduled to open in late 2011. FedEx officials said it will have advanced automated material handling technology for sorting packages and dispatch up to 130 vans daily for local deliveries. FedEx expects to have more than 200 staffers when the location opens, with that figure potentially growing to nearly 500 when it is operating at full capacity.

FedEx Ground spokesman David Westrick told LM in an interview that the development of this new facility is driven by continued growth and increased volumes.

“We are adding capacity to the Greater Chicago area. There is room for growth, and we can pick up and deliver more packages in this area.”

This expansion is part of an ongoing national expansion by FedEx Ground focused on a transit time acceleration plan to boost daily package volume capacity and augment network speed and service capabilities.

The expansion kicked off in 2002 and since that time FedEx has opened nine new hubs and expanded or relocated more than 500 local facilities, according to company officials. What’s more, they added that this expansion plan has accelerated ground service delivery by one day or more in more than half of the U.S. And FedEx Ground also now delivers more than 50 percent of packages in two days or less and more than 80 percent of packages in three days or less, with average daily package volume rising from more than 50 percent from 2.1 million in 2003 to more than 3.3 million in 2010.
“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 James T. Primm, vice president of the Central Region for FedEx Ground, in a statement. “This new facility will enable us to meet the growing demand of local shippers and transport shipments across the country.”