For Immediate Release: April 11, 2001

AKRON, Ohio – FedEx Custom Critical, North America’s largest time-specific, critical-shipment carrier, has opened an ExpressCenter in Columbus, Ind., to provide faster pickup service for businesses in that community.

The ExpressCenter is a location where trucks are available for dispatch. Five sizes of trucks are available to meet customers’ expedited shipping needs: minivans, cargo vans, 12-foot and 20-foot straight trucks and tractor-trailers.

The new ExpressCenter offers pickup by straight trucks and tractor-trailers in less than 90 minutes for customers located within a 25-mile radius of Columbus and in less than two hours within a 26- to 50-mile radius. Response time is even faster for cargo vans and minivans, with pickup in less than 60 minutes within a 25-mile radius and in less than 90 minutes within a 26- to 50-mile radius.

“Columbus is a center of industry, with many large manufacturing and distribution sites,” says FedEx Custom Critical regional sales manager Randy Bryant. “Our new ExpressCenter gives these companies convenient access to expedited transportation services.”

FedEx Custom Critical’s other Indiana ExpressCenters include Evansville, Fort Wayne, Gary, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie, South Bend and Terre Haute.

FedEx Custom Critical specializes in critical shipments of any weight that require same-day or early next-day delivery. To arrange a shipment, customers call 800-762-3787. FedEx Custom Critical immediately dispatches an appropriate size truck to pick up the freight and transport it straight through to its destination.

Features of FedEx Custom Critical’s services include:

• Non-stop, door-to-door delivery throughout the U.S. and Canada.
• 24-hour, seven-day-a-week availability, including nights, weekends and holidays at no extra charge.
• Exclusive-use vehicles.
• Two-way satellite communications to track shipments from pickup through delivery.
• Immediate quotes, with transit times to the minute and price to the penny.
• Specialized equipment for care in handling, such as temperature control, air ride and liftgates.
• On-time performance. More than 96 percent of shipments are delivered within 15 minutes of the company’s time-specific promise.

FedEx Custom Critical provides shipping service throughout the U.S. and Canada and within Europe. Among its divisions are White Glove Services®, for shipments that require special care in handling, and CharterAir®, which offers an array of expedited air solutions to meet customers’ critical delivery times. FedEx Custom Critical is an operating subsidiary of FedEx Corp.

With annual revenues of $20 billion, FedEx Corp. is the premier global provider of transportation, e-commerce and supply-chain management services. The company offers integrated business solutions through a network of subsidiaries operating independently, including FedEx Express, the world's largest express transportation company; FedEx Ground, North America's second largest provider of small-package ground delivery service; FedEx Freight, a leading provider of regional less-than-truckload freight services; FedEx Custom Critical, the world's largest provider of expedited, time-critical shipments; and FedEx Trade Networks, a provider of customs brokerage, consulting, information technology and trade facilitation solutions networks.