FedEx expands freight operation

The expansion reinforces the area as a distribution hub, a chamber official said.
NORTH JACKSON -- A major expansion of the FedEx Freight Center on South Bailey Road makes it among the company's five largest freight operations.
The North Jackson freight center recently increased in size from 102 to 154 doors. The expanded operation, situated on a 30-acre site, currently has 75,000 square feet, which is up from 52,000 feet.
Although the investment was significant, the cost of the expansion was not disclosed by company officials.
The local freight center has 150 employees working in the office, as dock workers, city drivers and line drivers. Jack Schuller is the site manager.
Good location
Walt Good, director of the Youngstown-Warren Regional Chamber's economic development action team, said the freight center's location near the intersections of Interstates 76 and 80 makes it attractive to business.
"FedEx Freight's expansion reinforces the fact that metropolitan Youngstown is strategically positioned to most effectively serve leading logistics companies. Companies operating in today's just-in-time environment locate here to quickly and efficiently penetrate large markets, such as New York and Chicago overnight," Good said.
Ken Van Guilder, FedEx spokesman in Memphis, agreed that the area is a "very important hub of industry." He noted the company is growing "to meet customer demands for a portfolio of solutions."
He also said FedEx Freight, which is one of the companies under the umbrella of FedEx Corp., is the leading U.S provider of next and second-day regional, less-than-truck-load freight service.
Van Guilder noted that typically shipments made by FedEx Freight are 1,000 pounds or more and are shrink-wrapped and on pallets.
The expanded center also features state-of-the-art technology with its new dock computers that will allow customers tracking shipment progress.
Van Guilder said the "fast cycle logistics is what FedEx specializes in and it also saves inventory costs for customers."
More growth
FedEx Freight also announced an expansion at its consolidation center in Pocono Summit, Pa., where it increased from 151 service doors to 196 doors.
In addition, the company announced the opening of a new facility in southern California and plans to construct a major center in Sacramento by 2006.
FedEx Freight is among several major companies located in the North Jackson location, including Kaufmann's, Things Remembered and Toys "R" Us distribution centers.