Originally published in FedEx’s 2024 Global Economic Impact Report
The U.S. economy faced macroeconomic headwinds in FY 2024, with moderating inflation, continued job growth, and low unemployment helping boost overall U.S. GDP.
Trade between the U.S. and other countries also showed signs of recovery in the second half of FY 2024,13 as U.S. businesses continued looking to new markets for both supply chain partners and end customers. For example, U.S. imports from Mexico increased nearly 5% in CY 2023, reaching a total of $475.6 billion.14
FedEx operations in the U.S. are uniquely positioned to help customers adapt to changing economic conditions and shifting trade patterns. The company operates two major air hubs in Memphis and Indianapolis that provide capacity for domestic and international air shipments, as well as dedicated international air gateways in Alaska and Miami to facilitate trade between the U.S. and APAC and LAC regions, respectively. FedEx Freight is a leading provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) services — an economical option for U.S. businesses needing to ship cargo that won’t fill an entire trailer — while the extensive FedEx road network connects thousands of facilities to enable deliveries to 100% of U.S. residences and businesses.
Across this network, FedEx helps ensure that the company’s services and its economic impact extend to communities across the nation. FedEx employed approximately 370,000 people15 in the U.S. in FY 2024 and contracted with nearly 6,000 independent service provider businesses to provide pickup and delivery services on behalf of FedEx. Independent service provider companies employ their own drivers and support staff, and utilize their own equipment for transporting packages. More than half of these businesses have provided service to FedEx for more than f ive years, and 38% are minority, veteran, or women-owned. Since 2018, the average annual revenue for service providers has more than doubled to $2.1 million, and the annual revenue generated totals $12.3 billion.
The scale of these operations and the range of the company’s services make FedEx a significant presence in the U.S. Transportation and Warehousing sector,16 which grew substantially in FY 2024.
The sector’s total net economic output reached an estimated $981 billion in FY 2024, an 18% increase over total net economic output in FY 2023. FedEx directly contributed an estimated 6.7% of that net economic output in FY 2024.
Across the entire U.S. economy, FedEx directly contributed an estimated 0.2% of net economic output in FY 2024, a considerable impact for a single company.
In addition to this direct impact, FedEx indirectly contributed an estimated $8.1 billion to net economic output across the entire U.S. economy in FY 2024.
Measuring market-level impact
The contributions that FedEx makes to the U.S. economy are often most noticeable in locations where the company has a large presence. Cities, counties, and states that house significant FedEx facilities experience the direct impact of its capital expenditures, high levels of company employment, and purchases with local suppliers, along with the economic activity indirectly generated by the company’s extensive shipping, logistics, and business services.
To illustrate this localized impact, Dun & Bradstreet analyzed FedEx economic contributions to 13 U.S. markets, including seven states — Alaska, California, Florida, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee — and six major metropolitan areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth-Plano, Indianapolis (Marion County), Memphis (Shelby County), Miami (Miami-Dade County), Pittsburgh (Allegheny County), and Los Angeles (Los Angeles County). The analysis focused on the company’s impact on the Transportation and Warehousing sector, where FedEx makes substantial contributions due to the size of its network and the nature of its core services. As in the overall U.S. economy, FedEx contributed to strong economic growth at the market level. All 13 markets analyzed recorded increases in GDP for the Transportation and Warehousing sector in FY 2024. Transportation and Warehousing growth also outpaced overall GDP growth in seven of the markets analyzed, including Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indianapolis, Miami, and Pittsburgh.
FedEx also remains a major employer in these markets, paying wages that further stimulate economic activity across municipalities, counties, and entire states. For example, FedEx employs nearly 40,000 people in both California and Tennessee, approximately 18,000 people in Florida, nearly 15,000 in Pennsylvania, more than 12,000 in Ohio, and approximately 14,000 in New York. Those jobs are often concentrated in major metropolitan areas, such as Shelby County, Tennessee, where FedEx employs approximately 32,000 people; and Dallas-Fort Worth-Plano, Texas, where FedEx employs approximately 15,000 people.
FedEx spending with local suppliers also makes important contributions to the economies of these markets. For example, FedEx spent $1.3 billion with suppliers in Marion County, Indiana, and $1.1 billion with suppliers in California in CY 2023. FedEx spending with local suppliers surpassed a half-billion dollars in several other markets in CY 2023, including Tennessee ($637 million), Pennsylvania ($612 million) Florida ($598 million), New York ($580 million).
Employment
With operations and employees in every state, FedEx is one of the largest employers in the country. The company is committed to supporting all employees with a safe, inclusive, and growth-focused workplace. Since the company’s inception, opportunity has been at the forefront of its commitment to excellence. Providing opportunities to everyone ensures that FedEx team members – and their diverse perspectives, backgrounds, identities, talents, and skills – all come together to make the company successful in an ever-changing global marketplace. To illustrate this commitment, in FY 2023, 57% of FedEx employees in the U.S. identified as minorities. Within U.S. management, employees that identified as minorities made up 37% of positions.
As team members look to grow in their careers, FedEx offers tuition assistance and the Learning inspired by FedEx (LiFE) program — a partnership between FedEx and the University of Memphis. The LiFE program offers tuition-free, online degree options for more than 30 associate’s and bachelor’s programs of study. In FY 2024, approximately 4,500 employees were enrolled. FedEx is also dedicated to helping all team members develop their careers through learning and development opportunities, including the FedEx Learning Center that provides more than 25,000 online courses to employees after orientation.
As part of the company’s total rewards package, FedEx also provides competitive benefits to support the health and quality of life of employees and their eligible family members, including healthcare, wellness, paid sick leave, flexible paid time off, short- and long-term disability, and other benefits. Eligible full- and part-time employees may elect these competitive health benefits offered by FedEx for themselves and their eligible dependents. In 2023, FedEx covered more than 70% of total eligible health care costs on average for more than 360,000 participating employees and their dependents in the U.S.
This commitment to providing high-quality jobs, career growth opportunities, and support for employees’ health and wellbeing has repeatedly earned FedEx honors as one of the best places to work in the United States. For example, in 2023 FedEx was named by LinkedIn as one of the Top Companies to Grow your Career and recognized as a Blue Ribbon Company by Fortune. In 2024, FedEx was named one of the Best Companies to Work for by the Women’s Choice Awards.
13 https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ditcinf2024d2.pdf
14 https://www.bea.gov/news/2024/us-international-trade-goods-and-services-december-and-annual-2023
15 This number includes active full-time and part-time FedEx employees.
16 As defined by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
For a closer look at select markets, read the full report here.
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