((PKG)) At FedEx ((Russian Service))
((Reporter: Lesia Bakalets))
((Camera: Sergey Sokolov))
((Adapted by: Philip Alexiou))
((Map: Memphis, Tennessee))
((COURTESY throughout: FedEx))
((NATS))
((Rick Armstrong, FedEx worker))
All of these folks were trained around this aircraft. All the equipment that you see, these guys are all cross trained.
((Walter Kirkeminde, Senior Manager, Memphis Hub, FedEx))
We would actually call this the Memphis World Hub because it connects all of our network around the world.
((Rick Armstrong, FedEx worker))
So, what you’re seeing is the offload of the 767, okay. So, this offload crew here, about a 12 person team. So, what they’re doing is they’re taking these containers and bringing them down to the ground. They’re going to take them on one of these dollies in the tug and they’re going to pull them to one of the inputs that we have here, okay. So, as you notice, these containers have curtains on them, they have doors on them, okay. So, as they take these to the input, they will start unloading these by hand.
((Walter Kirkeminde, Senior Manager, Memphis Hub, FedEx))
Memphis will sort 1.4 million [packages] a night, through this facility every night, about 700,000 in the day time.
((Rick Armstrong, FedEx worker))
They want to do this as fast as they can, okay, because we have, again, these folks need to go and load other aircraft. They have a parameter they have to meet, so, about 35 to 40 minutes, but the faster we unload these aircraft, the faster they get boxes to the input.
((Walter Kirkeminde, Senior Manager, Memphis Hub, FedEx))
So, it will ride the belt system. It will be sorted automatically, some of it by hand and it’ll get reloaded into a container, go back out on an airplane. As packages are shipped, we’ve already determined the optimal routing to get the package as quickly as we can to the customer.
((Rick Armstrong, FedEx worker))
We want to be as safe as we possibly can, but at the same time, be as efficient as we possibly can.
((Walter Kirkeminde, Senior Manager, Memphis Hub, FedEx))
Certainly we avail ourselves of technology as much as we can, but there is quite a bit of manual, you know, human work. We actually have over 7,000 employees just to sort these packages.
((NATS))
((Walter Kirkeminde, Senior Manager, Memphis Hub, FedEx))
So, we serve 220 countries. We’re going in and out of 375 airports around the world. The FedEx network connects 99 percent of the world’s GDP [gross domestic product].
((NATS))
