Fedex Expects Fewer Packages During Holiday Season

Ryan Beene, Bloomberg News

A FedEx courier carries packages during Cyber Monday in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. Adobe Digital Economy Index is expecting Cyber Monday to bring the biggest holiday shopping of the year, with consumers projected to spend between $10.2 billion and $11.3 billion. , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp. plans to pare parcel volume forecasts at its key ground unit as its customers plan to ship fewer packages during the holiday season.

FedEx Ground, which handles the bulk of the company’s e-commerce deliveries in the US, will update its expectations in roughly two weeks to account for softening economic conditions that are anticipated to erode shipping volume, Reuters reported on Friday, citing an internal memo.

It’s another sign of weakening demand after FedEx shocked investors last month with quarterly earnings that fell far short of Wall Street’s expectations. The company also withdrew its full-year financial forecast and said it would park aircraft, close facilities and take other steps to deliver as much as $2.7 billion in savings this fiscal year.

“We are constantly collaborating with customers on their projected shipping needs and making adjustments as necessary to ensure our network is prepared to deliver outstanding service for this year’s Peak season and beyond,” FedEx said in a statement in response to an inquiry from Bloomberg. The company didn’t comment on the memo in the Reuters report.

Fedex shares fell 1.5% to $152.81 at 1:09 p.m. on Friday, paring much of an earlier decline. The stock has declined more than 40% so far in 2022.