FedEx Ground opens larger Chicago hub

FedEx Ground opens larger Chicago hub    FedEx Ground has officially opened its new 430,000-square-foot distribution center in Bedford Park, Ill., outside Chicago.
   The $125 million facility is adjacent to the company's original package terminal built in 1985 by the company's predecessor, Roadway Package System Inc.
   The new hub, which is nearly double the size of the old location, will provide faster processing rates of up to 30,000 packages per hour, additional load and unload doors, more scan tunnels and sorters. FedEx Ground said it would add 30 new positions, increasing the hub workforce to nearly 900.
   'Enhancing our distribution capability in the central region is an important step in our ongoing efforts to increase the size, speed and efficiency of our network,' said Jim Primm, vice president of the central division of FedEx Ground, in a news release.
   The new hub is the seventh new facility featuring advanced material handling systems since the company began a major expansion program in 2002. It has also increased the size or relocated more than 500 local facilities.
   The network enhancements have resulted in accelerating ground service delivery by one day or more in more than half of the United States, according to the company. FedEx Ground delivers more than half of packages in two days or fewer and more than 80 percent of packages in three days or fewer. Additionally, average daily package volumes have increased by more than half from 2.1 million in 2003 to more than 3.4 million today.