FedEx Ground

From mergers and acquisitions to regulation changes, Logistics Management has compiled the most influential Logistics and Supply Chain news stories of 2016.

The company said this new facility is part of the company’s nationwide network expansion plan that includes 560 distribution hubs and local pickup-and-delivery stations around the country.

Drivers for FedEx Ground Package System in 20 states will receive $240 million from FedEx to settle lawsuits that claim FedEx misclassified them as independent contractors, according to a Reuters report.

When it comes to pricing changes, transportation and logistics bellwethers are usually on the same page. And that was again made clear with changes each company made for additional handling charges on ground packages.

With the days falling off the calendar leading up to the holiday season, the ongoing influence and emergence of e-commerce on supply chain management shows no signs of stopping. That was a major takeaway of a keynote speech given by Henry Maier, president and CEO of FedEx Ground at the University of Rhode Island’s Supply Chain Management Forum earlier this week.

Rate increases will take effect for FedEx Express U.S. domestic, U.S. export, and U.S. import services, effective January 4, 2016. FedEx Express will increase shipping rates by an average of 4.9 percent for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services, and FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery will increase shipping rates by an average of 4.9 percent. FedEx SmartPost rates will also change. And FedEx Freight will increase shipping rates by an average of 4.9 percent.

Settling a widely followed lawsuit brought by more than 2,300 California workers at FedEx Ground and FedEx Home delivery, parent FedEx Corp. has agreed to create a $228 million fund and resolve a decade-long lawsuit involving misclassification of workers.

Early returns on dimensional pricing changes are encouraging for FedEx, but an analyst says impact will be clearer after the fiscal fourth quarter results are issued in about three months.

The Memphis-based company reported today that quarterly net income of $606 million was up 24 percent annually, and revenue, at $11.7 billion, was up 6 percent. Operating income at $987 million was up 24 percent.

Following the lead of its chief competitor, FedEx, Atlanta-based transportation and logistics bellwether UPS today said that effective December 29, it will also adopt dimensional pricing in the United States. Company officials said that dimensional weight will be used to calculate the billable weight of a shipment on all UPS Ground services and UPS Standard to Canada packages.

Effective January 1, 2015, FedEx will apply dimensional weight pricing to all shipments moved via FedEx Ground, and at FedEx Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload group, FedEx has updated its fuel surcharges for the U.S. and Canada by 3 percent.