Cargo Declines at FedEx’s Hub Airport
Memphis International Airport recorded a modest decline in cargo in November, pointing to a slight slowdown by dominant cargo handler FedEx.
Cargo weight handled by the airport in November was down 0.9% from a year earlier, and landed weight was down 2.4%.
FedEx Express, which has its world hub in Memphis, handles more than 99% of cargo coming through the airport. Its hub covers about 50 million square feet, compared to 5.9 million square feet leased by UPS, airport president Scott Brockman said.
The airport board on Dec. 17 voted to extend a lease with UPS to 50 years, a five-year extension. UPS is in the midst of a three-year, $70 million expansion of its air freight and trucking hub at Winchester and Swinnea.
Last spring, FedEx projected its landed weight would drop 8% in the year beginning July 1. Industry experts attributed the drop to fleet modernization that's switching to lighter, more efficient aircraft.
Landed weight isn't down as much as FedEx expected, chief financial officer Forrest Artz said, but airport officials called FedEx to make sure the cargo weight data was accurate.
"We do have a phone call out to FedEx to talk about this," Artz said.
FedEx had no immediate comment on the matter.
The number usually increases in November because the company is moving into holiday peak season, Artz said. FedEx's peak season officially began on Black Friday, Nov. 27.
FedEx on Wednesday reported holiday shipping season was proceeding as expected, with more than 26 million packages picked up on Monday. FedEx's peak seasons are increasingly driven by truck-based services such as FedEx Ground, which carry the load of rising e-commerce.
From July 1 to Nov. 30, the airport's total cargo weight was up 1.3%, and landed weight was up 0.14%.
Landed weight is fixed by aircraft type, regardless of whether the plane lands full or empty.
