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October 24, 2012

FedEx to add 20,000 seasonal workers, sees shipping up 13 pct

FedEx Corp said on Monday it plans to hire 20,000 seasonal workers, the same as last year, to handle holiday shipping volume that it expects will be up more than 13 percent.


An ongoing increase in e-commerce and last-minute orders amid a slow-growing economy will mean more deliveries for companies like FedEx that can handle fast shipments.

FedEx, which is closely watched as an indicator of consumer demand and economic health, anticipates handling more than 280 million shipments during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The company said the impact of an increase in holiday shipments was included in its fiscal 2013 earnings outlook.

For the second time this year, FedEx cut its forecast for global growth in 2013, citing slower growth in China, recession in some European economies and high energy prices.

FedEx can add the same number of seasonal workers as last year because it has been hiring staff throughout 2012, especially at the Ground and SmartPost divisions that will handle the bulk of the holiday volume, said T.Michael Glenn, executive vice president of market development and corporate communications.

Dec. 10 is expected to be its busiest day ever with some 19 million shipments - a 10 percent increase from last year.

E-commerce will drive the shipping volume on so-called "Green Monday," which falls on the second Monday of December and kicks off the heaviest online shipping week of the year.

As more shoppers buy their holiday gifts on the Internet or via mobile phone, it means higher shipping volume for FedEx and United Parcel Service - both of which have delivery contracts with most of the biggest Internet retailers.

Delivery volumes for FedEx's busiest day of the year have consistently grown, and will be nearly double the 9.8 million shipments it handled in 2005.

U.S. retail sales are expected to rise 4.1 percent this holiday season, though a slower pace than in prior years, according to the National Retail Federation.

indiatimes.com

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