FedEx Woes Won't Deter Plans

Jun. 20 — TRIAD — FedEx Corp. remains on schedule to complete and open its national cargo hub next year despite the company enduring challenging times because of the slumping economy and higher fuel costs.

The $300 million package sorting complex at Piedmont Triad International Airport is scheduled to open in the middle of next year as planned, said Jim McCluskey, spokesman at the corporate headquarters in Memphis.

FedEx reported Wednesday that earnings for its fiscal year that began this month will fall below what Wall Street analysts expected. The international shipping conglomerate projects it will earn $4.75 to $5.25 per share for its fiscal year, below the $5.92 per share analysts had expected, according to Thomson Financial.

The FedEx report doesn't affect the hub development, McCluskey said Thursday.

"We're still on the same schedule we always were on," he told The High Point Enterprise.

FedEx Chairman, President and CEO Fred Smith indicated Wednesday in a conference call with analysts that the hub remained on schedule to open during 2009.

PTIA work crews continue to make progress on projects to accommodate FedEx, which include building a third, parallel runway, airport Executive Director Ted Johnson said.

Work crews could complete the new, permanent entrances and exits into the terminal off Bryan Boulevard by the end of this summer, Johnson said.

Base stone is being laid for the new, nearly two-mile-long runway, he said.

"Quite a bit of stone goes underneath the asphalt," Johnson said.