FedEx Express has taken delivery of its first of 15 Boeing 777 Freighters it has on order with at least four of these serving Asia to US routes by April 2010. By 2014 the express company will have a total of 15B777 freighters in its fleet, it said.

“The 777F is a game changer,” said FedEx Express, president, International, Michael L Ducker. “Our customers around the world will benefit from more point-topoint routes and the shorter flight times, increasing their competitiveness in the global marketplace.”

With the 777 Freighter, transit times from points in Asia to the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tenn., for example, will drop by one to three hours compared with the MD-11 Freighter. This will allow FedEx to accept packages from its customers later in the day and still deliver them on time, the express giant said.

This is Boeing’s ninth 777 Freighter delivery and marks the first 777 Freighter to enter service with a US-based freight carrier.

Meanwhile, the FedEx group reported a 50 per cent drop in net profit for the first quarter of the financial year 2009 (ending 31 August) to US$181 million, compared to $384 million in the same period last year. Revenue fell 20 per cent to $8.01 billion.

FedEx’s core Express business saw revenues under severe pressure from a general weakness in demand, both in terms of volume and margin. Fuel surcharges also fell compared to the same period last year. Although US Express volumes actually grew slightly – partly as a result of DHL’s exiting the US domestic express market – this was offset by the 22 per cent fall in revenue from its International Priority Business.

But the express giant said most of its markets were continuing to show signs of improvement, furthering hopes that a wider rebound was beginning to take shape.

“Confidence appears to be improving, the housing sector seems to have bottomed and the auto sales have picked up,” said FedEx’s chairman, chief executive and president Fred Smith. “These are encouraging signs of a more stable economy.”

Smith also predicted that the US economy would grow by three per cent in the third quarter, 4.9 per cent in the fourthquarter and 2.9 per cent in 2010.