About Us

FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services and headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1965, Yale University undergraduate Frederick W. Smith wrote a term paper that invented an industry and changed what’s possible.

In the paper, he laid out the logistical challenges facing pioneering firms in the information technology industry. Most airfreight shippers relied on passenger route systems, but those didn’t make economic sense for urgent shipments, Smith wrote. He proposed a system specifically designed to accommodate time-sensitive shipments such as medicine, computer parts, and electronics. Smith’s professor apparently didn’t see the revolutionary implications of his thesis, and the paper received just an average grade.

In August 1971, following a stint in the military, Smith bought controlling interest in Arkansas Aviation Sales, located in Little Rock, Arkansas. While operating his new firm, he saw firsthand how difficult it was to get packages and other airfreight delivered within one to two days. With his term paper in mind, Smith set out to find a better way. Thus the idea for Federal Express was born:

A company that has revolutionized global business practices and that now defines speed and reliability. The company made another significant transition in 1994, adopting the name “FedEx” as its official brand. One year later, it was authorized to serve China through an acquisition from Evergreen International Airlines. Under this authority, it became the sole U.S.-based, all-cargo carrier with aviation rights to the world’s most populous nation. Its global reach has continued to expand into what is now an unsurpassed network, delivering to customers in more than 220 countries and territories.