Dive Brief:
- FedEx is positioned to capture more air freight business as it tackles customers' needs beyond parcel shipping, President and CEO Raj Subramaniam said on a Q3 earnings call Wednesday.
- For example, the carrier recently won new air freight business with an AI data center customer after largely focusing on parcel shipping services over their more than 40-year relationship together, Subramaniam said.
- "Our expanding capabilities across key verticals are enabling us to address more of our customers' logistics needs, unlocking air freight demand from traditionally parcel-centric customers," he said.
Dive Insight:
FedEx is pursuing more expansive relationships with customers in high-value and fast-growing segments like data centers as the company continues to lean less into general e-commerce volume shipped directly to consumers.
Business-to-business — which makes up 60% of FedEx's revenue — drove the majority of the company's quarterly revenue growth, according to Subramaniam. This was especially apparent in international freight revenue, which grew 28% year over year in Q3 due to demand from data center customers and other B2B shippers, EVP and Chief Customer Officer Brie Carere said during the call. Average daily freight pounds in the international segment increased 15% year over year.
"Within global air freight, we are solving customers' most complex challenges through specialized premium capabilities," Carere said. "This approach is resonating with customers and driving growth in the highest-value segments."
FedEx's capabilities benefiting AI and data center customers include its SenseAware and Surround tools for shipment visibility and monitoring, along with tailored security coverage, per its website. These customers often lean on air freight services, helping drive overall demand in the air cargo sector this year. Many of their shipments are bulky, high-value components produced in Asia and shipped into North America, a trade lane FedEx has a "leading position on," Carere said during FedEx's investor day in February.
On Wednesday's call, Carere also noted FedEx's progress on attracting more volume from customers in the automotive sector, which the company established a dedicated vertical for last year. She noted the carrier has rolled out flexible pickup capabilities and integrated logistics offerings tailored to those shippers.
"This team has since onboarded 13 major automotive customers to these value-added services, delivering long-term profitable revenue growth within this vertical," Carere said.
Rival UPS is also chasing business from higher-value customer segments, with shippers in the healthcare, high-tech, manufacturing and automotive spaces gaining a larger share of the carrier's total U.S. volume, EVP and CFO Brian Dykes said on an earnings call Tuesday.
"This is a deliberate shift we have been working toward, more premium volume from industries and customers that deliver better overall economics," he said.
