[Denny]

See Fedex falls to loss

It amazed back when I was a supervisor with the post office, how many companies would use premium express delivery for most of their correspondence. Especially government agencies and law firms. The worst thing I saw were large boxes of road maps going express delivery to remote provincial tourist offices by air. I am sure the shipping cost on those was more expensive than the contents. Fuel is too expensive now to fly things like catalogs from Point A to Point B. Or most consumer type circuit boards. The world could save a lot of energy by more judicious use of air express shipments. We tend to forget just how big the air fleets of Fedex and UPS are. It seems very smart that Fedex is doing such a good job of setting up a ground service, one that is attracting lots of customers.

Excerpt -

"FedEx falls to loss, outlook disappoints

FedEx Corp. reported a quarterly loss Wednesday, citing record-high fuel prices, a weak U.S. economy and a previously announced write-down due to its decision to change the name of FedEx Kinko's.

The package delivery company also gave a forecast for earnings in its fiscal 2009 year that came in well below analysts' forecasts, which it blamed on the impact of high fuel prices on demand for its services.

"For me, the shocking part is the guidance," said Al Meyers, portfolio manager for the AHA Diversified Equity Fund, which owns FedEx shares. "The management at FedEx are straight shooters and give conservative guidance.
"This is all based on energy prices and it's simply shocking," he added.

...

Memphis-based FedEx reported a fiscal 2008 fourth-quarter loss of $241 million US, or 78 cents a share, compared with a profit of $610 million, or $1.96 a share a year earlier.

...

"Record-high fuel prices and the weak U.S. economy dampened volume growth and substantially affected our bottom line," Chief Executive Fred Smith said. "We will continue to reduce expenses to match volume and revenue expectations."