Winter weather impacts FedEx World Hub in Memphis

FedEx reported earlier this week that it has experienced “substantial disruptions” at its Memphis hub as a result of stormy winter conditions that affected large parts of the USA.

FedEx’s hub at Memphis International Airport, dubbed its World Hub, is the largest transportation hub in its global network, with hundreds of aircraft and eleven thousand staff. The hub has a sorting capacity of 484,000 documents and parcels per hour.

The disruptions caused some delays across the USA and several flights were cancelled. The hub is also at the centre of COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts, which is likely to have been impacted.

Credit: Aditya Vyas

However, according to FedEx, the company is able to fall back on its second major hub in Indianapolis and other hubs in the country, and it has facilities in Memphis to store temperature-sensitive goods.

Ground service across the US varied according to local conditions, while freight was suspended in some cities, the company said.

On the European side, FedEx reported that economy services from the US would require an additional day in transit, while economy freight would need an additional three days—but no delays were reported for economy services to the USA, or priority services to and from the country.

UPDATE: Although contingency plans are in place, FedEx is now reporting delays for both inbound and outbound US shipments.

You can view our service alerts page for the latest updates from FedEx.

Source: Commercial Appeal