FedEx Corporation (nyse: FDX), is a logistics services company, based in the United States. Previous names were Federal Express, Federal Express Corporation, and FDX Corporation.

FedEx is a syllabic abbreviation of the company's original name, Federal Express, used until 2000.

History

The company was founded as Federal Express by Fred Smith in Little Rock, Arkansas. '', September 20, 2004 This gave Smith a seeming history and influence to do something with travel and business. The original funding for FedEx came from an investment of $4 million that he inherited from his father with an additional $80 million pro from venture capitalists and $27,000 won by Smith at a Las Vegas at a blackjack table by a desperate Smith.

In December 2007, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States 'tentatively decided' that FedEx Ground Division might be facing a tax liability of $319 million for 2002, due to misclassification of its operatives as independent contractors. Reversing a 1994 decision which allowed FedEx to classify its operatives that own their own vehicles, the IRS is auditing the years 2003 to 2006, with a view to assessing whether similar misclassification of operatives has taken place. FedEx denies that any irregularities in classification have taken place, but is facing legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued had they been classified as employees.

Operating units and logos

FedEx is organized into operating units, each of which has its own version of the wordmark, designed by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates, in 1994. The Fed is always purple and the Ex is in a different color for each division. The original "FedEx" logo had the Ex in orange; it is now used as the FedEx Express wordmark. The FedEx wordmark is notable for containing a hidden right-pointing arrow in the negative space between the "E" and the "X".

• FedEx Express - The original overnight courier services, providing next day air service within the United States and time-definite international service. FedEx Express operates the largest civil aircraft fleet in the world and the largest fleet of wide bodied civil aircraft, it also carries more freight than any other airline.

• FedEx Ground - Guaranteed day-definite delivery within the United States and Canada at a cost savings as compared to time-definite FedEx Express. Uses a large fleet of trucks which are owned by the independent owner/operators and drivers are independent contractors who control individual delivery routes and territories. Formerly Roadway Package System (RPS).
• FedEx Home Delivery - A division of FedEx Ground, specializing in residential delivery Tuesday through Saturday and offers delivery options to provide more flexibility for residential recipients. The logo includes a drawing of a dog carrying a package known as spot.com. FedEx Home Delivery only operates in the United States. To make up the difference, FedEx Ground in Canada performs the business deliveries and residential deliveries.
• FedEx SmartPost - Consolidates parcels from merchants such as e-commerce and catalog companies and uses the United States Postal Service for the final delivery. Formerly the independent company Parcel Direct until FedEx acquired them for $120M in 2004.