FedEx explores cargo opportunities amid Covid-19

March 18, 2020: After Etihad Cargo announced its freighter summer schedule for key markets, cargo carrier FedEx is also finding opportunities to carry shipments amid Covid-19 (coronavirus).

FedEx chairman and CEO Fred Smith said Tuesday that it is capable of handling the increased demand for its international express-delivery services that are arising because of the reduction in airlines, as reported by Star Tribune.

Recently, many passenger airlines that carry freight in their bellies are being grounded by the Covid-19 outbreak, paving way for cargo carriers.

"For the last couple weeks we have seen increased demand from Asia," FedEx president Raj Subramaniam said on a call with Wall Street analysts after the company reported quarterly financial results. "We have seen strong demand for FedEx Ground (a package shipping company) here in the US and especially home delivery, and even the commercial volumes have been quite stable."

The company, however, does not know what will happen next with the still-growing Covid-19 pandemic, Subramaniam stated.

FedEx also suspended its financial forecasts for the fiscal year, which ends in less than three months, because of the uncertain impact of the virus outbreak. The company said it earned $315 million in the latest quarter, a drop of 57 percent from the same period a year earlier. The quarter spanned the peak Christmas delivery season in the US and the early stages of the pandemic, especially in Asia.

FedEx said it is managing capacity, retiring older planes and making changes in its residential deliveries — cost-control steps that it had previously announced.

In September 2019, O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg became the logistics giant's first location to host a regularly scheduled flight into Africa. The B777F between Johannesburg and Dubai connects Africa to the FedEx network and increased capacity into the US and Europe. The plane lands in Johannesburg once a week, flying from Memphis via Dubai.