Item 1. BUSINESS

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Item 1. BUSINESS

Overview

FedEx Corporation (“FedEx”) was incorporated in Delaware on October 2, 1997 to serve as the parent holding company and provide strategic direction to the FedEx portfolio of companies. FedEx provides a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services through companies competing collectively, operating independently and managed collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. These companies are included in the following business segments:

•FedEx Express: Federal Express Corporation (“FedEx Express”) is the world’s largest express transportation company, offering time-definite delivery to more than 220 countries and territories, connecting markets that comprise more than 99% of the world’s gross domestic product. The FedEx Express segment also includes FedEx Trade Networks, Inc. (“FedEx Trade Networks”), which provides international trade services, specializing in customs brokerage and global ocean and air freight forwarding, and FedEx CrossBorder, LLC (“FedEx Cross Border”), which provides e-commerce technologies that enable international transactions for e-tailers and consumers worldwide. During 2017, we announced that effective June 1, 2017 products and solutions offered by FedEx SupplyChain Systems, Inc. (“FedEx SupplyChain Systems”) would be combined with similar offerings within FedEx Custom Critical, Inc. (“FedEx Custom Critical”), FedEx Express and FedEx Supply Chain Distribution System, Inc. (“FedEx Supply Chain”), formerly GENCO Distribution System, Inc. (“GENCO”).
•TNT Express: Acquired near the end of our 2016 fourth quarter, TNT Express B.V. (“TNT Express”) is an international express transportation, small-package ground delivery and freight transportation company. TNT Express services are primarily classified by the speed, distance, weight and size of consignments. While a majority of its shipments are between businesses, TNT Express also offers business-to-consumer services to select key customers. TNT Express provides road and air delivery services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.
•FedEx Ground: FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (“FedEx Ground”) is a leading North American provider of small-package ground delivery services. FedEx Ground provides low-cost, day-certain service to any business address in the U.S. and Canada, as well as residential delivery to 100% of U.S. residences through its FedEx Home Delivery service. FedEx SmartPost is a FedEx Ground service that specializes in the consolidation and delivery of high volumes of low-weight, less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages primarily using the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”) for final delivery to residences. The FedEx Ground segment also includes FedEx Supply Chain, which provides integrated supply chain management solutions.
•FedEx Freight: FedEx Freight, Inc. (“FedEx Freight”) is a leading U.S. provider of less-than-truckload (“LTL”) freight services across all lengths of haul, offering: FedEx Freight Priority, when speed is critical to meet a customer’s supply chain needs; and FedEx Freight Economy, when a customer can trade time for cost savings. The FedEx Freight segment also offers freight delivery service to most points in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and includes FedEx Custom Critical, a leading North American provider of time-specific, critical shipment services.
•FedEx Services: FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. (“FedEx Services”) provides sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collections services for U.S. customers of our major business units and certain back-office functions that support our other companies. The FedEx Services segment includes FedEx Office and Print Services, Inc. (“FedEx Office”), which provides document and business services and retail access to our package transportation businesses.

In 2017, TNT Express’s results are disclosed as a reportable segment and are also combined with the FedEx Express reportable segment to reflect a management reporting structure referred to as the FedEx Express group. As described in more detail below, the integration of FedEx Express and TNT Express has proceeded in a manner such that in the first quarter of 2018 we will report one integrated FedEx Express segment (currently reported as the FedEx Express group). For more information about the FedEx Express group and our reportable segments, please see “Business Segments.” For financial information concerning our reportable business segments, refer to the accompanying financial section, which includes management’s discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition and our consolidated financial statements.

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Our website is located at fedex.com. Detailed information about our services, e-commerce tools and solutions, and citizenship efforts can be found on our website. In addition, we make our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to such reports available, free of charge, through our website, as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Investor Relations page of our website, http://investors.fedex.com, contains a significant amount of information about FedEx, including our SEC filings and financial and other information for investors. The information that we post on our Investor Relations website could be deemed to be material information. We encourage investors, the media and others interested in FedEx to visit this website from time to time, as information is updated and new information is posted. The information on our website, however, is not incorporated by reference in, and does not form part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Except as otherwise specified, any reference to a year indicates our fiscal year ended May 31 of the year referenced.

TNT Express Cyber-Attack

In June 2017, TNT Express worldwide operations were significantly affected due to the infiltration of an information technology virus known as Petya. For further information about the cyber-attack, see the section titled “TNT Express Cyber-Attack” included in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition”).

Strategy

FedEx has developed a unique business strategy whereby our companies compete collectively, operate independently and manage collaboratively, which allows us to provide a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services to our customers. Our companies compete collectively by standing as one brand worldwide and speaking with one voice, they operate independently by focusing on our independent networks to meet distinct customer needs, and they manage collaboratively by working together to sustain loyal relationships with our workforce, customers and investors.

Our “compete collectively, operate independently, manage collaboratively” strategy allows us to manage our business as a portfolio, in the long-term best interest of the enterprise, not a particular operating company. As a result, we base decisions on capital investment, expansion of delivery, information technology and retail networks, and service additions or enhancements upon achieving the highest overall long-term return on capital for our business as a whole. For each FedEx company, we focus on making appropriate investments in the technology and assets necessary to optimize our long-term earnings performance and cash flow. Our business strategy also provides flexibility in sizing our operating companies to align with varying macroeconomic conditions and customer demand for the market segments in which they operate, allowing us to leverage and manage change. Volatility and uncertainty have become the norms in the global transportation market, and we are able to use our flexibility to accommodate changing conditions in the global economy. To that end, we continue to modernize our aircraft fleet with more fuel efficient and lower-emission aircraft and expand and rationalize network capacity at FedEx Ground where we continue to see growing package volumes.

While our business strategy guides our operating companies to compete collectively and manage collaboratively, we continue to believe that operating independent networks, each focused on its own respective markets, results in optimal service quality and reliability from each business unit. Each FedEx company focuses exclusively on the market sectors in which it has the most expertise and can be independently enhanced and managed to provide outstanding service to our customers. Each company’s operations, cost structure and culture are designed to serve the unique customer demands of a particular market segment and as a result, we are able to adapt our networks in response to changing needs.

Our business strategy allows us to respond to our current and potential customers’ evolving needs that are shaped by the following four key trends that are driving global commerce:

•Growth of e-commerce: E-commerce continues to be a catalyst for the other trends below and is a vital growth engine for businesses, as the internet is increasingly being used to purchase goods and services. While our residential e-commerce revenues are much smaller than our business-to-business revenues, it is the fastest growing market and requires constant innovation to make delivery to consumers more efficient. Through our global transportation and technology networks, we contribute to and benefit from the growth of e-commerce.
•Globalization of trade: As the world’s economy has become more fully integrated, companies are sourcing and selling globally. With customers in more than 220 countries and territories, we facilitate this supply chain through our global reach, delivery services and information capabilities. Despite the recent slow-down in global trade growth, we continue to believe that globalization will drive international volume growth over the long term.

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•Faster, more efficient supply chains: While the growth of global trade has slowed, companies of all sizes continue to depend on the delivery of just-in-time inventory to help them compete. We have taken advantage of the move toward more efficient supply chains by helping customers obtain more visibility into their supply chains and near real-time information to manage inventory in motion, thereby reducing overhead and obsolescence and speeding time-to-market.
•Influx of high-tech businesses and high-value-added goods: High-tech and high-value-added goods have increased as a percentage of total economic output, and our various operating companies offer a unique menu of services to fit virtually all shipping needs of high-tech and high-value-added industries.

These trends have produced an unprecedented expansion of customer access — to goods, services and information. Through our global transportation, information technology and retail networks, we help to make this access possible. We continue to position our companies to facilitate and capitalize on this access and to achieve stronger long-term growth, productivity and profitability. Three areas of focus that will allow us to accelerate performance going forward are:

•Investment: We continue to take advantage of market growth and meet customers’ increasing demands for our services.
•Integration: We are building on our record of success as we integrate acquisitions we have made in recent years.
•Innovation: We are rapidly advancing information-technology solutions targeting efficiency and customer convenience.

In particular, in May 2016 we acquired TNT Express, which is the largest acquisition in FedEx history. This acquisition rapidly accelerates our European and global growth, substantially enhances our global footprint through TNT Express’s lower-cost road networks in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and expands our capabilities and solutions for our customers. The benefits of the integration of the FedEx Express and TNT Express businesses are extensive. For instance, we are implementing new technology and processes and optimizing the location of our facilities and stations to deliver unmatched service. We will benefit from efficiencies, improved stop densities and economies of scale facilitated by integrated pick-up and delivery operations. Additionally, we will operate one integrated global express network, allowing us to capitalize on technology and solutions to most efficiently route parcels and freight through our integrated hub, linehaul and intercontinental air network. We also will improve the efficiency of staff functions and processes with innovative information technology solutions, streamlined support functions, and the realization of significant sourcing savings globally. Furthermore, we will grow revenue by offering a best-in-class portfolio of services through a single sales team, with a single online customer facing tool, and through revenue management activities focused on improved market share, yield and profitability.

The integration of FedEx Express and TNT Express is expected to be completed by the end of 2020, and significant progress towards that goal was made during 2017. The integration of the two businesses generally occurs at a country level, and our leadership teams, which were put in place in 2017 and are comprised of FedEx Express and former TNT Express executives, have identified and are using three different integration models: (1) direct serve to direct serve; (2) global service participant (FedEx Express model) or associate (TNT Express model) to direct serve; and (3) global service participant to associate or associate to global service participant. Using these models, we have begun successfully integrating the two businesses on a country-by-country basis. We will continue to refine our integration plans, however, particularly in light of the recent cyber-attack at TNT Express. For further information about the cyber-attack, see the section titled “TNT Express Cyber-Attack” included in Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Operationally, we have begun a phased conversion of the intercontinental flights operated by ASL Airlines Belgium (formerly TNT Airways) to FedEx Express operations. In particular, in April 2017 we began operating a flight linking TNT Express’s European air hub in Liege, Belgium to the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee, giving TNT Express customers direct access to the portfolio of FedEx services offered in the U.S. and Canada. We also have implemented operation information technology that is foundational to the integration, including technology that allows us to handle FedEx Express packages in the TNT Express network and TNT Express packages in the FedEx Express network, and technology that allows for the management of customer inquiries across both the FedEx Express and TNT Express customer service platforms.

While the TNT Express and FedEx Express integration was a primary area of focus in 2017, we also introduced additional innovative solutions and made other important investments that benefit our customers, including:

•Entering into a long-term alliance agreement with Walgreens Co., which will offer convenient access to FedEx Ground and FedEx Express dropoff and pickup services at thousands of Walgreens locations across the U.S.
•Launching FedEx Fulfillment, an e-commerce solution provided by FedEx Supply Chain that helps small and medium-sized businesses fulfill orders from multiple channels, including websites and online marketplaces, and manage inventory for their retail stores.

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•Adding a compressed natural gas (“CNG”) tractor fleet at FedEx Freight and a CNG fueling station to FedEx Freight’s Oklahoma City Service Center, which exemplify FedEx’s commitment to connecting the world responsibly and resourcefully.
•Expanding the FedEx First Overnight service offered by FedEx Express to more than 4,400 ZIP Codes across the U.S. With this expansion, the service now reaches more than 32,000 ZIP Codes for next-business day delivery, helping us continue to meet the growing demand of business-to-business customers requiring timely, next-day early delivery.

Reputation and Responsibility

By competing collectively under the FedEx brand, our operating companies benefit from one of the world’s most recognized brands. FedEx is one of the most trusted and respected companies in the world, and the FedEx brand name is a powerful sales and marketing tool. Among the many reputation awards we received during 2017, FedEx ranked 11th in FORTUNE magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list — the 17th consecutive year FedEx has ranked among the top 20 in the FORTUNE Most Admired Companies list. Additionally, FedEx was included on the Reputation Institute’s 2017 “Most Reputable Companies in the World” list, which measures the reputations of thousands of the world’s most prestigious companies. Lastly, in 2017 FedEx was again listed on Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens” list.

FedEx is well recognized as a leader, not only in the transportation industry and for technological innovation, but also in global citizenship. We understand that a sustainable global business is tied to our global citizenship, and we are committed to connecting the world responsibly and resourcefully. Our latest published update to our global citizenship report is available at http://csr.fedex.com. These reports describe how we think about our responsibilities in the area of global citizenship and include important goals and metrics that demonstrate our commitment to fulfilling these responsibilities.

Our People

Along with a strong reputation among customers and the general public, FedEx is widely acknowledged as a great place to work. For example, in 2017 FedEx was named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the U.S. Additionally, FedEx was chosen as one of the 2016 “10 Best Workplaces for African Americans” by global research and consulting firm Great Place to Work® and FORTUNE magazine.

FedEx also supports an inclusive workplace culture and is committed to the education, recruitment, development and advancement of diverse team members worldwide, and we are recognized for our commitment to those efforts. For instance, in 2016 FedEx was named by Black Enterprise as one of the “Top 40 Best Companies for Diversity,” and in 2017 it was named one of “America’s Top Corporations for Women’s Business Enterprises” by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

At FedEx, it is our people — our greatest asset — that give us our strong reputation. In addition to superior physical and information networks, FedEx has an exemplary human network, with more than 400,000 team members who are “absolutely, positively” focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards, and the needs of their customers and communities. Through our internal Purple Promise and Humanitarian Award programs, we recognize and reward employees who enhance customer service and promote human welfare. For additional information on our people-first philosophy and workplace initiatives, see http://csr.fedex.com.

Our Community

FedEx is committed to actively supporting the communities we serve worldwide through the strategic investment of our people, resources and network. We provide financial contributions, in-kind charitable shipping services and volunteer efforts by our team members to help a variety of non-profit organizations achieve their goals and make a measurable impact on the world. We have the following five core giving pillars:

•Delivering for Good: Lending our global network and unparalleled logistics expertise to organizations with mission-critical needs in times of disaster and to help communities heal, learn and thrive.
•Sustainable Transportation: Scaling existing solutions and investing in new ideas to improve mobility, reduce congestion, and decrease pollution in communities around the world.
•Employment Pathways: Connecting teens and young adults in underserved populations to skills and career training that lead to greater access to jobs and opportunity, especially in the fields of technology and logistics.

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•Road Safety: Leveraging FedEx’s safety expertise to reduce road crash fatalities by improving road conditions and educating drivers and pedestrians – especially child pedestrians – around the world.
•Global Entrepreneurship: Advancing women and minority-owned small businesses globally through training and increased access to resources, capital and new markets.

We also have the following two strategic giving areas:

•Local Market Commitment: Investing resources where our customers and team members live to improve public safety, education systems, economic development and quality of life.
•Diversity & Inclusion: Promoting inclusion, celebrating culture and history, and empowering young people from diverse backgrounds.

In 2016, FedEx announced that it will invest $200 million in more than 200 communities by 2020 through its global giving platform, FedEx Cares. FedEx invested $46.21 million and $55.41 million in charitable contributions in 2016 and 2017, respectively, benefiting communities globally. FedEx also supports communities throughout the U.S. with an annual United Way employee giving campaign. Additionally, more than 20,000 FedEx team members volunteered more than 93,000 hours of service during the 2016 FedEx Cares Week, a period dedicated to service projects in 500 communities in the U.S. and other regions FedEx serves around the globe. For additional information on our community involvement and our FedEx Cares strategy, see http://fedexcares.com.

The Environment

In furtherance of our commitment to protecting the environment, we initiated an effort to increase FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency 50% from a 2005 baseline by 2025, a goal that we increased from 30% in 2016. We also continue with our goal to reduce aircraft emissions intensity by 30% by 2020 on an emissions per available-ton-mile basis, a goal that we increased from 20% in 2012. We have also established a goal of obtaining 30% of our jet fuel from alternative fuels by the year 2030. These efforts help us continue to reduce our environmental footprint as evidenced in 2016 when our aircraft fleet achieved a 22% reduction in emissions intensity since 2005 and our FedEx Express surface vehicle fleet exceeded its goal of increased FedEx Express vehicle fuel efficiency of 20% five years early.

To reduce the cost of fuel use and associated greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions, we have implemented efficiencies in flight operations through our global FedEx Fuel Sense program, and we have replaced many of our older airplanes with more fuel-efficient models. These two initiatives saved more than 153 million gallons of jet fuel and avoided almost 1.5 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2016. We have an impressive global alternative fuel fleet with approximately 2,700 alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid, electric, compressed or liquefied natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas and hydrogen fueled vehicles. Eighteen of our facilities around the world now generate renewable energy, which collectively avoided more than 7,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2016. In addition, twelve FedEx Express facilities in the U.S. have received certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®), the U.S. Green Building Council’s system for rating the environmental performance of buildings. FedEx Express has made LEED certification the standard for newly built U.S. facilities.

We also continue to evaluate the environmental impacts of our packaging and copy and print services, and minimize waste generation through efforts that include recycling and the use of copy paper with recycled content, among other environmentally responsible available choices. In 2016, 98% of paper purchased for use by FedEx Office was Forest Stewardship Council or other third-party-certified as sustainably sourced. We also use FedEx-branded cardboard packaging at FedEx Express and FedEx Ground, which is made from almost 60% recycled content. One example of our environmentally-responsible activities is the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council, a U.S. nonprofit organization that supports and recognizes sustainable procurement of which we are a founding member. We continue to support the Council by participating in technical advisory groups and applying best practice guidance to our own supply chain sustainability initiatives. For additional information on the ways we are minimizing our impact on the environment, see http://csr.fedex.com.

Governance

FedEx has an independent Board of Directors committed to the highest quality corporate governance. The Board has taken significant steps to enhance its accountability to stockholders in recent years. For example, in March 2016, our Board of Directors adopted a proxy access bylaw that permits up to 20 stockholders owning 3% or more of FedEx’s outstanding voting stock continuously for at least three years to nominate and include in FedEx’s proxy materials director nominees constituting up to two individuals or 20% of the Board, whichever is greater, provided that the stockholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the requirements specified in our Bylaws.

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Our Board of Directors periodically reviews all aspects of our governance policies and practices, including our Corporate Governance Guidelines and our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, in light of best practices and makes whatever changes it deems appropriate to further our longstanding commitment to the highest standards of corporate governance. The Guidelines and the Code, which apply to all of our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer and senior financial officers, are available in the corporate governance section of the Investor Relations page of our website at http://investors.fedex.com. We will post in the Governance & Citizenship section of the Investor Relations page of our website information regarding any amendment to, or waiver from, the provisions of the Code to the extent such disclosure is required.

Business Segments

The following describes in more detail the operations of each of our reportable segments:

FedEx Express Group

On May 25, 2016, we acquired TNT Express, a leading international express transportation, small-package ground delivery and freight transportation company. For 2017, TNT Express’s results are disclosed as a reportable segment and combined with the FedEx Express reportable segment in a reporting structure referred to as the FedEx Express group. During 2017, these segments each had discrete financial information that was regularly reviewed when evaluating performance and making resource allocation decisions. However, they are combined for financial reporting discussion purposes into a collective business as a result of their management reporting structure.

As described above, the integration process is proceeding in a manner such that commencing in the first quarter of 2018 we will report one FedEx Express segment (currently reported as the FedEx Express group) when the financial information for the FedEx Express and TNT Express segments will begin to merge and only the results of the FedEx Express group will be regularly reviewed when evaluating performance and making resource allocation decisions.

FedEx Express Segment

FedEx Express

Overview

FedEx Express invented express distribution over 40 years ago in 1973 and remains the industry leader, providing rapid, reliable, time-definite delivery of packages and freight to more than 220 countries and territories through an integrated global network. FedEx Express offers a wide range of U.S. domestic and international shipping services for delivery of packages and freight, connecting markets that generate more than 99% of the world’s gross domestic product through door-to-door, customs-cleared service, with a money-back guarantee. FedEx Express’s unmatched air route authorities and extensive transportation infrastructure, combined with leading-edge information technologies, make it the world’s largest express transportation company. FedEx Express employs approximately 169,000 employees and has approximately 66,000 drop-off locations (including FedEx Office centers and FedEx OnSite locations, such as certain Walgreens stores), 657 aircraft and approximately 58,000 vehicles and trailers in its integrated global network.

Services

FedEx Express offers a wide range of U.S. domestic and international shipping services for delivery of packages and freight. Overnight and deferred package services are backed by money-back guarantees and extend to nearly the entire U.S. population. FedEx Express offers three U.S. overnight package delivery services: FedEx First Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight and FedEx Standard Overnight. FedEx SameDay service is available for urgent shipments up to 150 pounds to virtually any U.S. destination. FedEx Express also offers U.S. express overnight and deferred freight services backed by money-back guarantees to handle the needs of the time-definite freight market. Additionally, FedEx One Rate gives U.S. customers a simple, predictable flat rate shipping option that is calculated based on the packaging type, service selected and destination. In 2017, FedEx Express expanded its FedEx First Overnight service to more than 4,400 ZIP Codes across the U.S. With this expansion, the service now reaches more than 32,000 ZIP Codes for next-business day delivery, helping us continue to meet the growing demand of business-to-business customers requiring timely, next-day early delivery.

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International express and deferred package delivery with a money-back guarantee is available to more than 220 countries and territories, with a variety of time-definite services to meet distinct customer needs. FedEx International Priority package services provide time-definite delivery within one, two or three business days worldwide. FedEx International Economy package services provide time-definite delivery within five business days worldwide. FedEx International First package services provide time-definite delivery to select postal codes in 20 key global markets, with delivery to select U.S. ZIP Codes as early as 8:00 a.m. from more than 90 countries in one or two business days, delivery by 10 a.m. in one business day to Canada and by 11:00 a.m. in one business day to Mexico. FedEx Express also offers domestic pickup-and-delivery services within certain non-U.S. countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, China, India, Mexico, Brazil, France, Poland and South Africa. In addition, FedEx Express offers comprehensive international express and deferred freight services, backed by a money-back guarantee, real-time tracking and advanced customs clearance.

We also provide FedEx Delivery Manager, which allows our U.S. residential customers to customize home deliveries to fit their schedule by providing a range of options to schedule dates, locations and times of delivery. By signing up at fedex.com, customers can receive notification of FedEx Express and FedEx Ground packages en route to their homes, and can choose various delivery options.

For information regarding FedEx Express e-shipping tools and solutions, see “FedEx Services — Customer-Driven Technology.”

International Expansion

In May 2016, we acquired TNT Express, which has express delivery operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific and South America. This acquisition rapidly accelerates our European and global growth, substantially enhances our global footprint through TNT Express’s lower-cost road networks in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and expands our capabilities and solutions to our customers. We are in the process of integrating TNT Express operations with the FedEx Express network, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. For more information regarding the progress we made on the integration during 2017 and the impact that the recent cyber-attack at TNT Express may have on the integration going forward, see “Strategy.”

In addition to the TNT Express acquisition, we made several global strategic acquisitions over the past several years, including in South Africa, Poland, Brazil and Mexico. These acquisitions give us more robust global transportation networks and added capabilities in important international markets. In recent years, we also have expanded our capabilities in the Asia-Pacific markets, including through the establishment of: our Asia-Pacific hub at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in southern China, which began operations in 2009; our North Pacific regional hub at the Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan, which opened in April 2014 and serves as a consolidation point for shipments from northern Asia to the U.S.; and our plans for a new International Express and Cargo Hub in Shanghai, which will be located at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and is slated for completion by the end of 2018. These hubs allow us to continue to better serve our global customers doing business in the Asia-Pacific markets.

To facilitate the use of our growing international network, we offer a full range of international trade consulting services and a variety of online tools that enable customers to more easily determine and comply with international shipping requirements.

U.S. Postal Service Agreement

In 2013, FedEx Express entered into a new seven-year agreement with the USPS under which FedEx Express provides airport-to-airport transportation of USPS Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail within the United States. On February 22, 2017, the parties entered into an amendment to the agreement whereby the initial renewal period provided in the agreement was exercised in part and the agreement’s period of performance was extended through September 29, 2024. FedEx Express also provides transportation and delivery for the USPS’s international delivery service called Global Express Guaranteed under a separate agreement. For more information about our relationship with the USPS, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”).

Pricing

FedEx Express periodically publishes list prices in its Service Guides for the majority of its services. In general, shipping rates are based on the service selected, destination zone, weight, size, any ancillary service charge and whether the customer charged the shipment to a FedEx account. On January 2, 2017, FedEx Express implemented a 3.9% average list price increase for U.S. domestic, U.S. export and U.S. import services and a change to the U.S. domestic dimensional weight divisor.

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FedEx Express has an indexed fuel surcharge for U.S. domestic and U.S. outbound shipments and for shipments originating internationally, where legally and contractually possible. Effective February 6, 2017, FedEx Express fuel surcharges are adjusted on a weekly basis. The fuel surcharge is based on a weekly fuel price from two weeks prior to the week in which it is assessed. Prior to February 6, 2017, our fuel surcharge for FedEx Express incorporated a timing lag of approximately six to eight weeks before it was adjusted for changes in fuel prices. For example, the fuel surcharge index in effect at FedEx Express in January 2017 was set based on November 2016 fuel prices. In addition, on November 2, 2015, we updated the tables used to determine our fuel surcharge at FedEx Express. The weighted average U.S. domestic and U.S. outbound fuel surcharge as a percentage of the base rates for the past three years was: 2017 — 2.51%; 2016 — 1.84%; and 2015 — 6.34%. See the “Fuel” section of Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition”) for a description and discussion of the net impact of fuel on our operating results.

Operations

FedEx Express’s primary sorting facility, located in Memphis, serves as the center of the company’s multiple hub-and-spoke system. A second national hub facility is located in Indianapolis. In addition to these national hubs, FedEx Express operates regional hubs in Newark, Oakland, Fort Worth and Greensboro and major metropolitan sorting facilities in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Facilities in Anchorage, Paris, Guangzhou, Cologne/Bonn and Osaka serve as sorting facilities for express package and freight traffic moving to and from Asia, Europe and North America. Additional major sorting and freight handling facilities are located at Narita Airport in Tokyo, Stansted Airport outside London and Pearson Airport in Toronto. The facilities in Guangzhou, Paris, Cologne/Bonn and Osaka are also designed to serve as regional hubs for their respective market areas. A facility in Miami — the Miami Gateway Hub — serves our South Florida, Latin American and Caribbean markets.

Throughout its worldwide network, FedEx Express operates city stations and employs a staff of customer service agents, cargo handlers and couriers who pick up and deliver shipments in the station’s service area. In some international areas, independent agents (“Global Service Participants”) have been selected to complete deliveries and to pick up packages. For more information about our sorting and handling facilities, see Part I, Item 2 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Properties”) under the caption “FedEx Express Segment.”

FedEx Office offers retail access to FedEx Express shipping services at all of its retail locations. FedEx Express also has alliances with certain other retailers to provide in-store drop-off sites, including at certain Walgreens stores. Our unmanned FedEx Drop Boxes provide customers the opportunity to drop off packages in office buildings, shopping centers and corporate or industrial parks.

Fuel Supplies and Costs

During 2017, FedEx Express purchased jet fuel from various suppliers under contracts that vary in length and which provide for estimated amounts of fuel to be delivered. The fuel represented by these contracts is purchased at market prices. Because of our indexed fuel surcharge, we do not have any jet fuel hedging contracts. See “FedEx Express — Pricing.”

The following table sets forth FedEx Express’s costs for jet fuel and its percentage of FedEx Corporation consolidated revenues for the last five fiscal years:

Fiscal YearTotal Jet Fuel Cost (in millions)Percentage of Consolidated Revenues
2017$1,8553.1%
20161,7263.4
20152,8165.9
20143,5067.7
20133,6838.3

Most of FedEx Express’s vehicle fuel needs are satisfied by retail purchases with various discounts.

Competition

As described in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”), the express package and freight markets are both highly competitive and sensitive to price and service, especially in periods of little or no macroeconomic growth. The ability to compete effectively depends upon price, frequency, capacity and speed of scheduled service, ability to track packages, extent of geographic coverage, reliability, innovative service offerings and the fit within the customer’s overall supply chain.

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Competitors within the U.S. include other package delivery concerns, principally United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”), passenger airlines offering express package services, regional delivery companies, air freight forwarders and the USPS. FedEx Express’s principal international competitors are DHL, UPS, foreign postal authorities, freight forwarders, passenger airlines and all-cargo airlines. We also compete with startup companies that combine technology with crowdsourcing to focus on local market needs. In addition, some high volume package shippers, such as Amazon.com, are developing in-house delivery capabilities and may become competitors. Many of FedEx Express’s international competitors are government-owned, -controlled or -subsidized carriers, which may have greater resources, lower costs, less profit sensitivity and more favorable operating conditions than FedEx Express.

Employees

David L. Cunningham, Jr. is the President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Express, which is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. As of May 31, 2017, FedEx Express employed approximately 117,000 permanent full-time and approximately 52,000 permanent part-time employees. FedEx Express’s international employees represent 37% of all employees.

The pilots at FedEx Express, who represent a small number of our total employees, are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (“ALPA”) and are employed under a collective bargaining agreement that took effect on November 2, 2015. The collective bargaining agreement is scheduled to become amendable in November 2021, after a six-year term. In addition to our pilots at FedEx Express, certain of FedEx Express’s non-U.S. employees are unionized.

Attempts by other labor organizations to organize certain other groups of FedEx Express employees occur from time to time. Although these organizing attempts have not resulted in any certification of a U.S. domestic collective bargaining representative of FedEx Express employees (other than ALPA), we cannot predict the outcome of these labor activities or their effect, if any, on FedEx Express or its employees. FedEx Express believes its employee relations are excellent.

FedEx Trade Networks

FedEx Trade Networks provides international trade services, specializing in customs brokerage and global ocean and air freight forwarding. FedEx Trade Networks also provides international trade advisory services, including assistance with the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, and through its WorldTariff subsidiary, publishes customs duty and tax information for over 180 customs areas worldwide. Additionally, FedEx Trade Networks provides customs clearance services for FedEx Express at its major U.S. hub facilities.

As trade throughout the world grows, so does the FedEx Trade Networks solutions portfolio. Value-added services of FedEx Trade Networks include over 120 freight forwarding offices in 29 countries and Global Trade Data, an information tool that allows customers to track and manage imports. FedEx Trade Networks has approximately 5,000 employees and 138 offices in over 120 service locations throughout North America and in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, India, Latin America and the Middle East. FedEx Trade Networks maintains a network of air and ocean freight-forwarding service providers and has entered into strategic alliances to provide services in certain countries in which it does not have owned offices.

Additionally, in 2015 we made the acquisition of Bongo International, LLC (“Bongo”), a leader in cross-border enablement technologies and solutions. The Bongo acquisition filled a strategic gap in our global portfolio, allowing us to help retailers and e-tailers grow by reaching international e-commerce consumers. In 2016, we completed the integration of Bongo with FedEx Trade Networks, and in 2017 we rebranded Bongo as FedEx Cross Border. FedEx Cross Border is an e-commerce enabler that provides international technology solutions such as duty calculations, package tracking, international shipping costs and currency conversion calculations.

TNT Express Segment

Overview

TNT Express is a leading international express transportation, small-package ground delivery and freight transportation company. TNT Express collects, transports and delivers documents, parcels and freight on a day-definite or time-definite basis. TNT Express services are primarily classified by the speed, distance, weight and size of consignments. Whereas the majority of its shipments are between businesses, TNT Express also offers business-to-consumer services to select key customers. TNT Express operates road transportation networks and delivers to over 200 countries and has more than one million shipments daily.

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Services

TNT Express provides two types of express services — Express and Economy Express. The Express services are day-definite and delivered next-day or fastest-by-air for distances for which next-day is not possible. The Economy Express services are also day-definite and are delivered fastest-by-road, except for intercontinental deliveries which depend on air. For both Express and Economy Express services, TNT has time-definite options for customers requiring delivery before a certain time. TNT also provides specialized or extremely urgent deliveries which include products such as same-day, value-added and non-standard freight services.

Pricing

TNT Express periodically updates list prices for the majority of its services. In general, shipping rates are based on the selected service, destination zone, (volumetric) weight, and any ancillary service charge. TNT Express offers its customers discounted prices generally based on actual or potential volumes and/or revenue.

TNT Express has an indexed fuel surcharge that varies by region or country and by product. The fuel surcharge percentage is subject to monthly adjustment based upon the price of a designated fuel type. Updated information on the fuel surcharge is available at tnt.com.

If a customer has requirements that fall outside of TNT Express’s standard service levels, but are acceptable under its standard operating procedures, TNT Express will provide the service with an additional charge to cover the additional costs incurred. For instance, collections and deliveries in certain remote and less accessible locations will incur an out-of-area charge.

Operations

TNT Express has a worldwide presence with domestic, regional and intercontinental delivery. TNT Express’s customers are primarily large companies and multinationals, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. The main industries served by TNT Express are industrial, automotive, high-tech and healthcare.

Services are delivered through a combination of physical infrastructures such as hubs, depots and vehicles, and electronic infrastructures such as track-and-trace systems. TNT Express operates road networks in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and South America. TNT Express’s unique European road network connects more than 40 countries through 19 road hubs and over 540 depots. Approximately 39,000 owner-operator vehicles and 7,000 company-owned or company-leased vehicles support TNT Express’s business. Principal competitors of TNT Express include DHL, UPS, DPD (a subsidiary of France’s La Poste’s GeoPost), General Logistics Systems (a Royal Mail-owned parcel delivery group), foreign postal authorities and freight forwarders.

As a condition precedent to its acquisition by FedEx, TNT Express sold its two airlines, TNT Airways and Pan Air Líneas Aéreas, to ASL Aviation Group, as European regulations prohibit foreign ownership of European-based airlines. TNT Express and ASL Aviation Group entered into a multi-year service agreement to operate certain flights for the FedEx-TNT Express combination. The airlines operate primarily out of TNT’s central air hub in Liege, Belgium. In April 2017, FedEx Express began operating a flight linking TNT Express’s European air hub in Liege, Belgium to the FedEx World Hub in Memphis, Tennessee, giving TNT Express customers direct access to the portfolio of FedEx services offered in the U.S. and Canada.

As of May 31, 2017, TNT Express had approximately 54,000 employees, all of whom are employed outside the U.S. TNT Express also relies upon subcontractors and agents to conduct its pickup-and-delivery and linehaul operations. David Binks is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TNT Express (he reports to the FedEx Express President and Chief Executive Officer). TNT Express’s headquarters are located in Hoofddorp, The Netherlands.

FedEx Ground Segment

FedEx Ground

Overview

By leveraging the FedEx brand, maintaining a low cost structure and efficiently using information technology and advanced automation systems, FedEx Ground continues to enhance its competitive position as a leading provider of business and residential money-back guaranteed ground package delivery services. FedEx Ground serves customers in the North American small-package market, focusing on business and residential delivery of packages weighing up to 150 pounds. Ground service is provided to 100% of the continental U.S. population and overnight service of up to 400 miles to nearly 100% of the continental U.S. population. Service is also provided to nearly 100% of the Canadian population. In addition, FedEx Ground offers service to Alaska and Hawaii through a ground and air network operation coordinated with other transportation providers.

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FedEx Ground continues to improve the speed, reach and service capabilities of its network, by reducing transit time for many of its lanes and introducing or expanding overnight ground service in many metropolitan areas. FedEx Ground’s ongoing network expansion program is substantially increasing the company’s daily pickup capacity through the addition of new hubs featuring the latest automated sorting technology, the expansion of existing hubs and the expansion or relocation of other existing facilities.

The company offers our FedEx Home Delivery service, which reaches 100% of U.S. residences. FedEx Home Delivery is dedicated to meeting the delivery needs of residential customers and provides routine Saturday and evening delivery and premium options such as day-specific, appointment and signature delivery. FedEx Home Delivery brings unmatched services to residential shippers and their customers and is the first residential ground package delivery service to have offered a money-back guarantee. The FedEx SmartPost service specializes in the consolidation and delivery of high volumes of low-weight, less time-sensitive business-to-consumer packages using the USPS for final delivery to any residential address or PO Box in the U.S. and is an important component of our FedEx Ground service offerings.

Additionally, FedEx Delivery Manager allows our U.S. residential customers to customize home deliveries to fit their schedule by providing a range of options to schedule dates, locations and times of delivery. By signing up at fedex.com, customers can receive notification of FedEx Ground packages en route to their homes and can choose various delivery options.

Pricing

FedEx Ground periodically publishes list prices for the majority of its services in its Service Guide. In general, U.S. shipping rates are based on the service selected, destination zone, weight, size, any ancillary service charge and whether the customer charged the shipment to a FedEx account. As previously announced, on January 2, 2017, FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery average list prices increased by an average of 4.9% and the dimensional weight divisor for shipments within the U.S. was changed.

Effective February 6, 2017, FedEx Ground fuel surcharges are adjusted on a weekly basis. The fuel surcharge is based on a weekly fuel price from two weeks prior to the week in which it is assessed. Prior to February 6, 2017, our fuel surcharge for the FedEx Ground business incorporated a timing lag of approximately six to eight weeks before they were adjusted for changes in fuel prices. For example, the fuel surcharge index in effect at FedEx Ground in January 2017 was set based on November 2016 fuel prices. See the “Fuel” section of Item 7 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition”) for a description and discussion of the net impact of fuel on our operating results.

Operations

FedEx Ground operates a multiple hub-and-spoke sorting and distribution system consisting of 588 facilities, including 36 hubs, in the U.S. and Canada. FedEx Ground conducts its operations primarily with approximately 57,000 owner-operated vehicles and approximately 58,000 company-owned trailers. To provide FedEx Home Delivery service and FedEx SmartPost Service, FedEx Ground leverages its pickup operation and hub and linehaul network.

Advanced automated sorting technology is used to streamline the handling of millions of packages daily. Using overhead laser and six-sided camera-based bar code scan technology, hub conveyors electronically guide packages to their appropriate destination chute, where they are loaded for transport to their respective destination terminals for local delivery. Software systems and internet-based applications are also deployed to offer customers new ways to connect internal package data with external delivery information. FedEx Ground provides shipment tracing and proof-of-delivery signature functionality through the FedEx website, fedex.com. For additional information regarding FedEx Ground e-shipping tools and solutions, see “FedEx Services — Customer-Driven Technology.”

FedEx Office offers retail access to FedEx Ground shipping services at all of its retail locations. FedEx Ground is also available as a service option at all FedEx Authorized ShipCenters and other FedEx OnSite locations, including at certain Walgreens stores, located in the U.S.

As of May 31, 2017, FedEx Ground had approximately 88,000 employees. In addition, FedEx Ground relies on independent small businesses to conduct its linehaul and pickup-and-delivery operations, as the use of independent contractors is well suited to the needs of the ground delivery business and its customers. Henry J. Maier is the President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Ground. FedEx Ground is headquartered in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, and its primary competitors are UPS, the USPS and regional delivery carriers. We also compete with startup companies that combine technology with crowdsourcing to focus on local market needs. In addition, some high volume package shippers, such as Amazon.com, are developing in-house delivery capabilities and may become competitors.

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Independent Contractor Model

FedEx Ground is involved in lawsuits and other proceedings (such as state tax or other administrative challenges) where the classification of its independent contractors is at issue. The court has granted final approval of all 20 settlements of the cases in the multidistrict litigation. These cases involve a contractor model which FedEx Ground has not operated since 2011. In addition, we are defending contractor-model cases that are not or are no longer part of the multidistrict litigation. These cases are in varying stages of litigation. We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves in these proceedings and continue to believe that FedEx Ground’s owner-operators are properly classified as independent contractors and that FedEx Ground is not an employer or joint employer of the drivers of the company’s independent contractors. For a description of these proceedings, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”) and Note 18 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

FedEx Ground previously announced plans to implement the Independent Service Provider (“ISP”) model throughout its entire U.S. pickup and delivery network, including the 29 states that had not yet begun transitioning to the ISP model. The transition to the ISP model in these 29 states is being accomplished on a district-by-district basis and is expected to be completed in the second half of calendar 2020. As of May 31, 2017, more than 45% of FedEx Ground volume was being delivered by small businesses operating under the ISP model. The costs associated with these transitions will be recognized in the periods incurred and are not expected to be material to any future quarter.

FedEx Supply Chain

On January 30, 2015, we acquired GENCO, a leading North American third party logistics provider, and during 2017 we rebranded GENCO as FedEx Supply Chain. FedEx Supply Chain is a supply chain solution provider specializing in Product Lifecycle Logistics® for technology, retail, consumer and industrial goods, and healthcare industries. With more than 12,000 employees at approximately 110 facilities, FedEx Supply Chain provides a comprehensive range of integrated logistics services to enable growth, minimize cost, mitigate supply chain risk and improve customer services. Service offerings include inbound logistics, warehousing and distribution, fulfillment, contract packaging and product configuration, systems integration, returns process and disposition, test, repair, refurbishment, product liquidation and managed transportation. FedEx Supply Chain is headquartered in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, and has a small number of employees that are members of unions.

In 2017, FedEx Supply Chain launched FedEx Fulfillment, an e-commerce solution that helps small and medium-sized businesses fulfill orders from multiple channels, including websites and online marketplaces, and manage inventory for their retail stores. The FedEx Fulfillment platform is designed to be an easy-to-use and all-in-one logistics solution through which customers have complete visibility into their products, giving them an easy way to track items, manage inventory, analyze trends, and make more informed decisions by better understanding shoppers’ spending behaviors.

FedEx Freight Segment

FedEx Freight

FedEx Freight is a leading U.S. provider of LTL freight services, offering choice, simplicity and reliability to meet the needs of LTL shippers — FedEx Freight Priority, when speed is critical to meet supply chain needs, and FedEx Freight Economy, when time can be traded for cost savings. Through one comprehensive network of service centers and advanced information systems, FedEx Freight provides service to virtually every U.S. ZIP Code (including Alaska and Hawaii) with industry-leading transit times. FedEx Freight Priority, which has the fastest published transit times of any nationwide LTL service, offers a no-fee money-back guarantee on eligible shipments. Internationally, FedEx Freight Canada offers FedEx Freight Priority service, serving most points in Canada, as well as FedEx Freight Priority and FedEx Freight Economy service between Canada and the U.S. In addition, FedEx Freight serves Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands via alliances.

Through its many service offerings, FedEx Freight can match customers’ time-critical needs with industry-leading transit times. With the expansion of FedEx electronic solutions, LTL shippers have the convenience of a single shipping and tracking solution for FedEx Freight, FedEx Express and FedEx Ground. These solutions make freight shipping easier and provide customers easy access to their account information. The FedEx Freight Advance Notice feature available on FedEx Freight Priority shipments uses the company’s innovative technology systems to proactively notify FedEx Freight customers via the internet, e-mail or fax when a shipment may be delayed beyond its estimated delivery date, providing customers with greater visibility and control of their LTL freight shipments. Customers can also process cross-border LTL shipments to and from Canada and Mexico, as well as intra-Canada and -Mexico shipments, through FedEx Ship Manager at fedex.com, FedEx Ship Manager Software, FedEx Ship Manager Server and FedEx Web Services. Additionally, FedEx Freight A.M. Delivery offers freight delivery by 10:30 a.m. within and between the U.S. and Canada, backed by a money-back guarantee.

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In 2016, FedEx Freight introduced the FedEx Freight box, which makes transporting LTL shipments simple with improved flexibility, increased security, better shipment integrity and no freight classification. The FedEx Freight box comes in two sizes: a standard freight box that requires a pallet to ship and a smaller freight box with an integrated pallet. The ability to choose between freight boxes makes freight shipping accessible to any business. With a distance-based pricing structure, the FedEx Freight box allows customers to ship LTL with flat rates. The FedEx Freight box was initially introduced into selected markets during the second half of 2016, and was subsequently rolled out to customers nationwide in June 2016.

FedEx Freight has an indexed fuel surcharge, which is subject to weekly adjustment based on the national U.S. on-highway average price for a gallon of diesel fuel. On January 2, 2017, FedEx Freight implemented a 4.9% average increase in certain U.S. and other shipping rates, and the FedEx Freight Extreme Length surcharge changed from $85 to $150 and began to be applied to shipments with dimensions of 12 feet or greater versus the prior 15 feet. FedEx Freight also implemented zone-based pricing on U.S. and other LTL shipping rates on January 4, 2016.

As of May 31, 2017, the FedEx Freight segment was operating approximately 66,000 vehicles and trailers from a network of nearly 370 service centers and had approximately 41,000 employees. Michael L. Ducker is the President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Freight, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. FedEx Freight’s primary competitors are YRC Worldwide Inc. (which includes YRC Regional Transportation and YRC Freight), XPO Logistics, Inc., UPS Freight, Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. and ABF Freight (an ArcBest company).

In 2014 and 2015, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“Teamsters”) petitioned for National Labor Relations Board elections at sixteen FedEx Freight facilities. The Teamsters lost the vote or withdrew the petition prior to the election at twelve facilities and won the vote at four facilities. Petitions for decertification of the Teamsters were filed for the Charlotte and East Philadelphia facilities on June 19, 2017. The election was held in Charlotte on July 7, 2017, and the drivers voted to decertify the Teamsters. The election in East Philadelphia will be held on July 19, 2017. We have begun bargaining with the unions in the two other locations. No new petitions for elections were filed in 2017.

FedEx Custom Critical

FedEx Custom Critical provides a range of expedited, time-specific freight-shipping services throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Among its services are Surface Expedite, providing exclusive-use shipping and time-definite services; Air Expedite, offering an array of expedited air solutions to meet customers’ critical delivery times; and White Glove Services, for shipments that require extra care in handling, temperature control or specialized security. Service from FedEx Custom Critical is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. FedEx Custom Critical continuously monitors shipments through an integrated proprietary shipment-control system, including two-way satellite communications on exclusive-use shipments.

FedEx Services Segment

FedEx Services

FedEx Services provides our other companies with sales, marketing, information technology, communications, customer service, technical support, billing and collection services, and certain other back-office support. Through FedEx Services, we provide a convenient single point of access for many customer support functions, enabling us to more effectively sell the entire portfolio of transportation services and to help ensure a consistent and outstanding experience for our customers.

David J. Bronczek and Robert B. Carter each serve as the Co-President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Services, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. As of May 31, 2017, the FedEx Services segment had approximately 31,000 employees (including approximately 15,000 at FedEx Office).

Customer-Driven Technology

FedEx is a world leader in technology, and FedEx founder Frederick W. Smith’s vision that “the information about a package is as important as the delivery of the package itself” remains at the core of our comprehensive technology strategy. In fact, in May 2016 FedEx ranked No. 1 in the first-ever InformationWeek Elite 100 Decade Award category, recognizing the 10 companies that have ranked the highest on average in the InformationWeek Elite 100, a compilation of the top business technology innovators in the U.S., over the prior 10 years. FedEx ranked No. 5 overall on the 2016 InformationWeek Elite 100 list. Additionally, FedEx was named a recipient of the 2017 CIO 100 Award from International Data Group’s CIO magazine. The annual award program recognizes organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology.

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Our technology strategy is driven by our desire for customer satisfaction. We strive to build technology solutions that will solve our customers’ business problems with simplicity, convenience, speed and reliability. The focal point of our strategy is our award-winning website, together with our customer integrated solutions. The fedex.com website was launched over 20 years ago, and during that time, customers have shipped and tracked billions of packages at fedex.com. The fedex.com website is widely recognized for its speed, ease of use and customer-focused features. At fedex.com, our customers ship packages, determine international documentation requirements, track package status, pay invoices and access FedEx Office services. The advanced tracking capability within FedEx Tracking provides customers with a consolidated view of inbound and outbound shipments.

FedEx Mobile is a suite of solutions including the FedEx mobile application, FedEx mobile website and SMS text messaging. The FedEx Mobile app provides convenience for recipients to track packages, get quick rates and estimated delivery times, quickly find the nearest FedEx location and easily access FedEx Delivery Manager to customize home deliveries. It is available on Android™ and Apple devices. The FedEx mobile website has expanded to more than 193 countries and territories and 26 languages. FedEx Mobile allows customers to track packages, create shipping labels, view account-specific rate quotes and access drop-off location information. SMS Notifications allows customers to track or follow a package via text messaging, and it is currently available in five countries.

With FedEx Office Print Online and proprietary iPhone and Android mobile apps, customers can use their laptops or mobile devices, accessing their personal cloud accounts, and print directly to any FedEx Office location in the U.S., or have their order delivered right to their door. Customers also have the flexibility of using FedEx Office’s Print & Go solutions to print at self-serve locations from USBs, the cloud or through email. Accessing files using popular cloud providers Google Drive™, Dropbox, Box, Microsoft OneDrive® and from FedEx Office’s own My Online Documents is easy. If customers have their files on a mobile device or laptop, they can email them to printandgo@fedex.com and with the retrieval code they receive they can conveniently print the files at the self-serve kiosks in any FedEx Office location. FedEx Office provides options for customers to choose the best access method they need for quick service or more robust printing projects. FedEx also uses wireless data collection devices to scan bar codes on shipments, thereby enhancing and accelerating the package information available to our customers.

FedEx continues to provide customers with innovative solutions. For example, FedEx Services has a package laboratory providing FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Freight customers with free package testing and design services.

We design our e-commerce tools and solutions to be easily integrated into our customers’ applications, as well as into third-party software developed by leading e-procurement, systems integration and enterprise resource planning companies. Our FedEx Ship Manager suite of solutions offers a wide range of options to help our customers manage their parcel and LTL shipping and associated processes.

Marketing

The FedEx brand name is symbolic of outstanding service, reliability and speed. Emphasis is placed on promoting and protecting the FedEx brand, one of our most important assets. As a result, FedEx is one of the most widely recognized brands in the world. In addition to television, print and digital advertising, we promote the FedEx brand through sponsorships and special events. For example, FedEx sponsors:

•The FedExCup on the PGA TOUR.
•The FedEx St. Jude Classic, a PGA TOUR event that has raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
•The National Football League (NFL), as its “Official Delivery Service Sponsor” and “Official Office Services Provider of the NFL.”
•FedExField in Washington, DC.
•The #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry driven by Denny Hamlin in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
•The UEFA Europa League, a major European soccer cup competition that spans 192 teams across 54 European nations.
•ATP World Tour men’s professional tennis circuit and French Open tennis tournament.
•FedExForum in Memphis, TN.

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Information Security

FedEx Services has a team of highly qualified professionals dedicated to securing information about our customers’ shipments and protecting our customers’, vendors’ and employees’ privacy, and we strive to provide a safe, secure online environment for our customers. We are committed to compliance with applicable information security laws, regulations and industry standards — including, for example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of comprehensive requirements for enhancing payment account data security developed by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council. For a description of risks related to information security, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”).

Global ISO 9001 Certification

FedEx Services provides our customers with a high level of service quality, as evidenced by our ISO 9001 certification for our global express and ground operations. ISO 9001 registration is required by thousands of customers around the world. FedEx’s global certification, encompassing the processes of FedEx Express, FedEx Ground and FedEx Services, enhances our single-point-of-access strategy and solidifies our reputation as the quality leader in the transportation industry. ISO 9001 is currently the most rigorous international standard for Quality Management and Assurance. ISO standards were developed by the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva, Switzerland to promote and facilitate international trade. More than 150 countries, including European Union members, the U.S. and Japan, recognize ISO standards.

FedEx Office

As of May 31, 2017, FedEx Office operated more than 1,800 customer facing centers, providing convenient access to printing and shipping expertise with reliable service. The FedEx Office network features retail stores, centralized production centers, corporate on-site print centers, and on-site business centers at hotels, convention centers and universities. Services include copying and digital printing, professional finishing, document creation, direct mail, signs and graphics, computer rentals, free Wi-Fi and corporate print solutions. FedEx Office also provides customers convenient access to the full range of FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping services. Customers may have their FedEx Express and FedEx Ground packages delivered to any FedEx Office customer-facing location nationwide through the Hold at FedEx Location service, free of charge. Additionally, FedEx SameDay City is available in 25 markets across the U.S., allowing customers to get their packages across town in the same day with local delivery by FedEx Office uniformed team members in branded FedEx Office delivery vehicles.

FedEx Office also offers packing services, and packing supplies and boxes are included in its retail offerings. By allowing customers to have items professionally packed by specially trained FedEx Office team members and then shipped using FedEx Ground day-definite shipping and time-definite global FedEx Express shipping services, FedEx Office offers a complete “pack-and-ship” solution. FedEx Office also offers FedEx Pack Plus, which includes custom box building capabilities and techniques, a robust assortment of specialty boxes and additional packing supplies, equipment and tools to serve our customers’ needs.

Almost all FedEx Office locations provide local pickup and delivery service for print jobs completed by FedEx Office. A FedEx courier picks up a customer’s print job at the customer’s location and then returns the finished product to the customer. Options and services vary by location.

Trademarks

The “FedEx” trademark, service mark and trade name is essential to our worldwide business. FedEx, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, FedEx Office, FedEx Services, FedEx Supply Chain, FedEx Trade Networks, FedEx Custom Critical, FedEx Cross Border and TNT Express, among others, are trademarks, service marks and trade names of Federal Express Corporation or the respective companies for which registrations, or applications for registration, are on file, as applicable. We have authorized, through licensing arrangements, the use of certain of our trademarks, service marks and trade names by our contractors and Global Service Participants to support our business. In addition, we license the use of certain of our trademarks, service marks and trade names on promotional items for the primary purpose of enhancing brand awareness.

Regulation

Air. Under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958, as amended (the “Federal Aviation Act”), both the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) and the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) exercise regulatory authority over FedEx Express.

The FAA’s regulatory authority relates primarily to operational aspects of air transportation, including aircraft standards and maintenance, as well as personnel and ground facilities, which may from time to time affect the ability of FedEx Express to operate its aircraft in the most efficient manner. FedEx Express holds an air carrier certificate granted by the FAA pursuant to Part 119 of the federal aviation regulations. This certificate is of unlimited duration and remains in effect so long as FedEx Express maintains its standards of safety and meets the operational requirements of the regulations.

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In September 2010, the FAA proposed rules that would significantly reduce the maximum number of hours on duty and increase the minimum amount of rest time for our pilots, and thus require us to hire additional pilots and modify certain of our aircraft. When the FAA issued final regulations in December 2011, all-cargo carriers, including FedEx Express, were exempt from these new pilot fatigue requirements, and instead required to continue complying with previously enacted flight and duty time rules. In December 2012, the FAA reaffirmed the exclusion of us from the new rule. It is reasonably possible, however, that future security or flight safety requirements could impose material costs on us.

The DOT’s authority relates primarily to economic aspects of air transportation. The DOT’s jurisdiction extends to aviation route authority and to other regulatory matters, including the transfer of route authority between carriers. FedEx Express holds various certificates issued by the DOT, authorizing FedEx Express to engage in U.S. and international air transportation of property and mail on a worldwide basis.

Under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, as amended, the Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, has responsibility for aviation security. The TSA requires FedEx Express to comply with a Full All-Cargo Aircraft Operator Standard Security Plan, which contains evolving and strict security requirements. These requirements are not static, but change periodically as the result of regulatory and legislative requirements, imposing additional security costs and creating a level of uncertainty for our operations. It is reasonably possible that these rules or other future security requirements could impose material costs on us.

FedEx Express participates in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (“CRAF”) program. Under this program, the U.S. Department of Defense may requisition for military use certain of FedEx Express’s wide-bodied aircraft in the event of a declared need, including a national emergency. FedEx Express is compensated for the operation of any aircraft requisitioned under the CRAF program at standard contract rates established each year in the normal course of awarding contracts. Through its participation in the CRAF program, FedEx Express is entitled to bid on peacetime military cargo charter business. FedEx Express, together with a consortium of other carriers, currently contracts with the U.S. government for such charter flights.

Ground. The ground transportation performed by FedEx Express is integral to its air transportation services. The enactment of the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 abrogated the authority of states to regulate the rates, routes or services of intermodal all-cargo air carriers and most motor carriers. States may now only exercise jurisdiction over safety and insurance. FedEx Express is registered in those states that require registration.

The operations of FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight and FedEx Custom Critical in interstate commerce are currently regulated by the DOT and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which retain limited oversight authority over motor carriers. Federal legislation preempts regulation by the states of rates and service in intrastate freight transportation.

Like other interstate motor carriers, our operations, including those at FedEx Express, are subject to certain DOT safety requirements governing interstate operations. In addition, vehicle weight and dimensions remain subject to both federal and state regulations.

International. FedEx Express’s international authority permits it to carry cargo and mail from points in its U.S. route system to numerous points throughout the world. The DOT regulates international routes and practices and is authorized to investigate and take action against discriminatory treatment of U.S. air carriers abroad. The right of a U.S. carrier to serve foreign points is subject to the DOT’s approval and generally requires a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and the foreign government. In addition, the carrier must then be granted the permission of such foreign government to provide specific flights and services. The regulatory environment for global aviation rights may from time to time impair the ability of FedEx Express to operate its air network in the most efficient manner, and efficient operations often utilize open skies provisions of aviation agreements. Additionally, global air cargo carriers, such as FedEx Express, are subject to current and potential additional aviation security regulation by foreign governments.

Our operations outside of the U.S., such as FedEx Express’s growing international domestic operations, are also subject to current and potential regulations, including certain postal regulations and licensing requirements, that restrict, make difficult and sometimes prohibit, the ability of foreign-owned companies such as FedEx Express to compete effectively in parts of the international domestic transportation and logistics market.

Communication. Because of the extensive use of radio and other communication facilities in its aircraft and ground transportation operations, FedEx Express is subject to the Federal Communications Commission Act of 1934, as amended. Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission regulates and licenses FedEx Express’s activities pertaining to satellite communications.

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Environmental. Pursuant to the Federal Aviation Act, the FAA, with the assistance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), is authorized to establish standards governing aircraft noise. FedEx Express’s aircraft fleet is in compliance with current noise standards of the federal aviation regulations. In addition to federal regulation of aircraft noise, certain airport operators have local noise regulations, which limit aircraft operations by type of aircraft and time of day. These regulations have had a restrictive effect on FedEx Express’s aircraft operations in some of the localities where they apply but do not have a material effect on any of FedEx Express’s significant markets. Congress’s passage of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 established a National Noise Policy, which enabled FedEx Express to plan for noise reduction and better respond to local noise constraints. FedEx Express’s international operations are also subject to noise regulations in certain of the countries in which it operates.

Concern over climate change, including the impact of global warming, has led to significant U.S. and international legislative and regulatory efforts to limit GHG emissions, including our aircraft and diesel engine emissions. For example, in 2009, the European Commission approved the extension of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (“ETS”) for GHG emissions to the airline industry. Under this decision, all FedEx Express flights that are wholly within the European Union are now covered by the ETS requirements, and each year we are required to submit emission allowances in an amount equal to the carbon dioxide emissions from such flights. Also, in October 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organization (“ICAO”) passed a resolution adopting the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (“CORSIA”), which is a global, market-based emissions offset program to encourage carbon-neutral growth beyond 2020. CORSIA is scheduled to take effect by 2021. ICAO continues to develop details regarding implementation, but compliance with CORSIA will increase our operating costs. Additionally, in July 2016, the EPA issued a finding that aircraft engine GHG emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. This finding is a regulatory prerequisite to the EPA’s adoption of a new certification standard for aircraft emissions. For additional information on such efforts to regulate GHG emissions and their potential effect on our cost structure and operating results, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”).

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations relating to, among other things, the shipment of dangerous goods, contingency planning for spills of petroleum products, the disposal of waste oil and the disposal of toners and other products used in FedEx Office’s copy machines. Additionally, we are subject to numerous regulations dealing with underground fuel storage tanks, hazardous waste handling, vehicle and equipment emissions and noise and the discharge of effluents from our properties and equipment. We have environmental management programs designed to ensure compliance with these regulations.

Customs. Our activities, including customs brokerage and freight forwarding, are subject to regulation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the TSA within the Department of Homeland Security (customs brokerage and security issues), the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (ocean freight forwarding) and the DOT (air freight forwarding). Our offshore operations are subject to similar regulation by the regulatory authorities of foreign jurisdictions.

Labor. All U.S. employees at FedEx Express are covered by the Railway Labor Act of 1926, as amended (the “RLA”), while labor relations within the U.S. at our other companies are governed by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, as amended (the “NLRA”). Under the RLA, groups that wish to unionize must do so across nationwide classes of employees. The RLA also requires mandatory government-led mediation of contract disputes supervised by the National Mediation Board before a union can strike or an employer can replace employees or impose contract terms. This part of the RLA helps minimize the risk of strikes that would shut down large portions of the economy. Under the NLRA, employees can unionize in small localized groups, and government-led mediation is not a required step in the negotiation process.

The RLA was originally passed to govern railroad and express carrier labor negotiations. As transportation systems evolved, the law expanded to cover airlines, which are the dominant national transportation systems of today. As an air express carrier with an integrated air/ground network, FedEx Express and its employees have been covered by the RLA since the founding of the company in 1971. The purpose of the RLA is to offer employees a process by which to unionize (if they choose) and engage in collective bargaining while also protecting global commerce from damaging work stoppages and delays. Specifically, the RLA ensures that an entire transportation system, such as at FedEx Express, cannot be shut down by the actions of a local segment of the network.

The U.S. Congress has, in the past, considered adopting changes in labor laws that would make it easier for unions to organize units of our employees. For example, there is always a possibility that Congress could remove most FedEx Express employees from the jurisdiction of the RLA, thereby exposing the FedEx Express network to sporadic labor disputes and the risk that small groups of employees could disrupt the entire air/ground network. In addition, federal and state governmental agencies have and may continue to take actions that could make it easier for our employees to organize under the RLA or NLRA. For a description of these potential labor law changes, see Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Risk Factors”).

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