FedEx Adds Europe Forwarding Stations

FedEx Trade Networks, pushing deeper into the ocean forwarding business, is adding five stations in Europe, including an office at the Port of Antwerp, the company announced Monday.

The addition of Antwerp follows the opening of offices in August in Rotterdam and Hamburg, expanding the rapid addition of new stations the FedEx freight forwarding began last year and giving the business new weight in ocean transport.

The company also added Budapest, Prague, Madrid and Milan in the latest round of expansion, which has seen the company add 33 stations outside North America since 2008.

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Memphis-based FedEx generally had treated international forwarding as an afterthought to its asset-based global air express network, but the company signaled new investment in the business last year when it added a handful of cities in China as forwarding points.

“By continuing to expand our operations in Europe and across the globe, we are able to provide our customers a fully integrated supply chain that is driven by the reliability of the FedEx brand,” said Fred Schardt, president of FedEx Trade Networks.

FedEx does not break out statistics for its FedEx Trade Networks operations in its public financial reporting.