FedEx, worldwide leader in express freight and packages transportation, will finance an extension of its infrastructures based in Paris Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport (Roissy-CDG). This site is the most important package sorting warehouse in France for FedEx and employs around 1,800 people of about 2,500 total in France.

FedEx European hub in will be expanded to meet demands of European businesses: the cost is evaluated at €80 million, financed by Aéroports de Paris, the Paris airports authority (that also operates Orly and Le Bourget airports). The package-sorting facility will be expanded from 49,600 to 72,000 square metres, the whole FedEx plant being 77,000 square metres. On the other hand, FedEx announced it will build a “State-of-the-Art, Environmentally-Friendly Facility” in Cologne, Germany. Construction is expected to be finished in September 2009 in Roissy-CDG airport (started in November 2007) and by spring 2010 in Cologne.

In Paris, this will increase package handling capacity by 31%, from 24,000 to 31,500 per hour. Most of the construction work has been done, some parking areas still need to be built, and then, the package sorting and dispatching system will be installed, by 2009. Since it entered the French market in 1985, FedEx never stopped growing. The company innaugurated its Roissy-CDG hub in 1999, which was, at that time the biggest FedEx hub outside the United States, and already represents a €200 million investment since 1999.

FedEx in France: large investments, strong commitment

Investments from FedEx and Aéroports de Paris, on the Roissy-CDG hub, is a foolproof way for the American carrier to show its interest for the area. It is to note that FedEx also participates in a project to ship express freight using high-speed rail freight trains. More commonly know as “Roissy CAREX” (for CArgo Rail Express), this project will link several European airports by high-speed trains, to carry freight by rail instead of air, for short and medium haul trips, thus decreasing costs. An article will be published about Roissy CAREX project in the next couple days on Transport Expertise/Transport Information Group.

References

  • Article: FedEx double sa taille à Roissy pour 80 millions d’euros, L’Usine Nouvelle, Jun. 5, 2008: here
  • Article: FedEx va chercher ses candidats sur le terrain, Le Figaro, Jun. 9, 2008: here
  • Press release: FedEx Express Supports European Trade Growth With Hub Expansions in France, Germany, FedEx, Jun. 3, 2008: here

References from the Transport Information Group

Please find below other stories related to FedEx and express freight, published previously on the Transport Information Group: