As UK and German post office services face difficulties, and Denmark has announced it is phasing out its historic PostNord, one commercial delivery firm is marking a key anniversary with a fanfare.
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. and the world’s largest express transportation company, is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its inaugural scheduled transatlantic service. On June 15, 1985, a fleet of seven Federal Express Boeing 727s took to the skies, establishing air links between New York, London, and Brussels – something the firm hails as a “key moment in redefining global commerce and connectivity.”
From Yale dissertation to globalisation
The establishment of FedEx’s transatlantic route happened 20 years after the idea received mediocre grades when it appeared in a Yale dissertation written by the firm’s founder. Launched in the States 1973, the concept was always about more than moving packages, the firm says in a press release, and just14 years later it was crossing the ocean, with the first parcel going from New York to Brussels.
Wouter Roels, regional president of FedEx Europe notes: “In 1985, the concept of rapid, reliable transatlantic shipping was just coming to the fore.” As part of that shift, Fedex was a driver of “unprecedented economic integration” coinciding with the spread of personal computing. Air freight was suddenly moving everything, “from pharmaceuticals, to machine parts, and perishable foods” the firm notes, pointing out the meteoric increase from 186 packages delivered in the whole of 1973, to over 17 million shipments now made every single day.
From initially serving just 25 U.S. cities in 1973, FedEx now connects more than 220 countries and territories. The workforce has mushroomed from 389 employees to a global team of over half a million.
And when it comes to logistics, today, FedEx’s integrated air and road network in Europe includes two air hubs, 27 road hubs connecting 45 countries daily, and 550+ pick-up and delivery stations in Europe. “The FedEx effect established the physical infrastructure to allow the global trade we all rely on today to flourish,” Roels claims.
Certainty in an uncertain world?
The firm’s transatlantic capabilities now connect 90% of Europe to “most US business centres” with a “next-day” offer. One segment that has clearly benefitted as a result is Europe’s e-commerce who can opt for “day-definite international shipping services, balancing speed with attractive prices,” Fedex says, while also highlighting its dedicated regional freight service across 22 countries for less urgent packages.
Forty years after the debut transatlantic shipment, the firm’s mission “remains the same,” Roels boasts, defining its aim as “to provide certainty in an uncertain world. We are proud to have been a part of European trade for four decades, and look forward to facilitating ever greater growth, and innovation in the years to come.”
