WORLD ROUTES: UPS Expands Presence at FedEx Hub Airport

United Parcel Services (UPS) has received approval from the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority to lease an additional 1.1 million sq ft of land at Memphis International Airport.

The airport is already home to competing logistics firm FedEx’s global SuperHub which opened in 1981 and currently employs 15,000 employees. It occupies around 30 million sq ft of property. By comparison UPS leases a number of properties surrounding the airport totalling 3.6 million sq ft, incorporating its freight, credit union, store and supply chain solutions, but the new lease will significantly expand UPS’s presence at the airport.

“They’ve decided to make a major expansion of that facility,” Larry Cox, authority President, told the Memphis Business Journal. “They will be expanding their sort facility substantially,” he said, and could potentially increase the number of flights from the airport.

The airport occupies about 4,300 acres of land in Shelby County. Leadership at the airport changed at the start of the month when Scott Brockman was promoted from vice to actual President and chief executive officer. Speaking with the Memphis Business Journal earlier in the month, Brockman advised FedEx’s interests will be protected going forward:

“The authority will never forget the need to continue to protect and provide growth opportunities to FedEx which provides tremendous economic value and positive impact to this airport and the community. We will proactively and strategically plan for the long-term to allow FedEx to continue to provide significant quality jobs to our community,” he said.

This article was reproduced and edited from an original story that appeared on our sister site Global Airport Cities.


COMING SOON… Aerotropolis Americas

The Aerotropolis Americas Conference and Exhibition (AACE) is the new annual event for the global airport development and real estate communities, conceived and organised by the same team behind the Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition (ACE). This new three-day conference and exhibition will build on the concept of the airport city and go further to explore how the broader aerotropolis can drive the economic development of a whole region up to 40 miles from the airport. The inaugural event will be held on October 29-31, 2013 in Dallas, Texas, and will be hosted by the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport. Click here for more information.

Richard Maslen

Richard Maslen has travelled across the globe to report on developments in the aviation sector as airlines and airports have continued to evolve and…