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FedEx Ground Unveils New St. Louis Facility
ST. LOUIS, (BUSINESS WIRE) April 10, 2003 - FedEx Ground, will celebrate the opening today in St. Louis of its latest fully automated local facility. Equipped with the most advanced package-sortation technology, including high-speed, camera-based scanners that "read" all sides of a package to capture digital images of each bar code, the 163,000-square-foot facility has the capacity to support more than 160 pickup and delivery vans in serving the 13-county St. Louis metropolitan area.

St. Louis-area shippers will benefit from enhanced package processing capabilities and expanded overnight ground service to destinations within 400 miles in southwest Indiana, western Kentucky, Memphis, Tenn., and most of Missouri. The extended reach complements existing overnight coverage to Indianapolis, Kansas City and Chicago.

In an announcement, Paul Callahan, vice president of the company's central division, stated "This facility brings FedEx Ground's technology leadership to the heartland and proves that we are committed to constantly improving the award-winning service we provide to our customers. By incorporating the industry's most advanced material handling and high-speed scanning equipment in our local facilities, we can move more packages through the network faster than ever and provide shippers detailed ground tracking information."

"Ground service in many cases is the most cost-effective mode through which to ship the thousands of packages my customers ask us to coordinate as part of product launches and other major events," stated shipper Mike Greenblatt, president and CEO of United Fulfillment Solutions, a three-year-old provider of warehousing, inventory management and pick and pack order processing for a variety of clients. "By expanding its overnight ground coverage in the St. Louis area, FedEx Ground is enhancing the value I provide to my own customers."

Located in Overland, Mo., the new FedEx Ground terminal consolidates the operations of two previous sites in St. Louis and St. Charles. Operating from one central facility increases direct loading capacity and brings the latest technologies to the entire St. Louis region.

The fully automated St. Louis terminal is part of a recently announced $1.8 billion, six-year expansion plan to nearly double FedEx Ground's daily package volume capacity from 2.5 million to 4.8 million by the end of fiscal year 2009. The multi-phase plan includes the addition of 10 new and 23 expanded central distribution hubs, as well as the expansion or relocation of more than 300 existing facilities.

Business Roundtable Releases Economic Outlook
Survey Revealing Continuing Weak Economy
WASHINGTON, (PRNewswire) April 10, 2003 - The Business Roundtable (BRT), comprised of America's leading CEOs, today released its economic outlook survey for the next six months of 2003, revealing a continued weak economic outlook and trending more pessimistic when compared to the survey's November 2002 results.

"This survey reflects that CEOs are more concerned about the weakness in the economy than they were six months ago," stated John T. Dillon, Chairman of The Business Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of International Paper.

"The most troubling finding is the employment figures reflecting lower employment expectations," Dillon said.

"The outlook for capital expenditures remains very pessimistic," added Dillon. "While over half of CEOs expect an increase in sales, the sales outlook is more negative for the next six months, and CEOs, on average, expect GDP growth to be in the 2.2 percent range, which is weaker than the 2.4 percent growth rate in 2002.

"In addition, CEOs identified their greatest economic challenges as consumer uncertainty resulting from the implications of war with Iraq and terrorism, and weak consumer demand.

"Winning the war abroad but losing jobs at home would be a partial victory. We have a tremendous opportunity to act now to create jobs."

The Business Roundtable introduced its economic outlook survey last November, outlining CEO expectations for the full year of 2003. The key findings of the survey released today, which reflect the outlook for the second and third quarters of 2003, include:

9 percent of CEOs expect employment growth in the next six months, compared to 11 percent expecting growth last November for overall 2003; 45 percent expect their company's employment to drop in the next six months, compared to 60 percent last November; and 46 percent expect it to remain the same, compared to 28 percent last November.
27 percent expect their U.S. capital expenditures to decrease over the next six months, compared to 24 percent last November for overall 2003; 55 percent expect it to remain the same over the next six months compared to 57 percent last November; and 18 percent expect it to be higher, compared to 19 percent last November.
56 percent of CEOs expect their sales to increase over the next six months, compared to 71 percent last November for overall 2003; 30 percent expect sales to remain flat over the next six months, compared to 19 percent last November; and 14 percent expect lower sales over the next six months, compared to 9 percent last November.
On average, CEOs expect GDP growth to be in the 2.2 percent range over the next six months. In 2002, GDP growth was at 2.4 percent, and the average annual GDP growth over the past decade has been 3.2 percent.

"Another interesting finding of this survey is that the greatest cost pressures on business are the dual threats of rising health care costs and rising litigation costs," Dillon said. "These factors are placing enormous cost pressures on U.S. companies and we must look for ways to address them in the near term.

"The members of The Business Roundtable represent a cross-section of industries that span the entire U.S. economy," added Dillon. "In today's economic climate, we cannot create jobs or spur growth until consumers start spending again. For that to happen, Congress must pass a meaningful economic growth package that will put cash in consumers' pockets and get the economy moving.

"Our survey underscores the need for Congress to take quick action to spur the economy and allow us to create jobs."

The BRT economic outlook survey provides a forward-looking view of the economic assumptions and outlooks of BRT companies, which have a combined U.S. workforce of more than 10 million employees and $3.7 trillion in revenues. It was completed by 120 of The Business Roundtable's 150 member companies.

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