Benzinga | Oct 19, 2020 11:08AM EDT

FedEx Express Strengthens Presence In Mexico With $12M Logistics Center

FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX) recently announced it is opening a $12.3 million distribution center in Le?n, a city in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.

The new 193,750-square-foot facility is aimed at strategically expanding FedEx Express' presence in the Baj?o region of west north-central Mexico for small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), said company spokeswoman Tatiana Gutierrez.

Gutierrez added the new facility will also "strengthen our global infrastructure as a response to our domestic and international customers' needs."

"With the addition of this new facility, we are expanding our value proposition in Mexico," Gutierrez said. "Currently, FedEx Express operates more than 2,500 vehicles, 2,000 points of sale, with more than 8,000 employees. Combining our assets and making them available to SMEs will help them develop new businesses in our territory and the international field."

The distribution center, which is scheduled to open in early 2021, will generate 150 new jobs. It will also include a new FedEx Express retail point, as well as additional investments in the Salamanca/Celaya parcel corridor.

Gutierrez said the site in Le?n, Guanajuato, was chosen because of the "alignment and infrastructure created by the Center-Baj?o-Occidente Alliance."

The alliance was formed by governors of the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Queretaro, Aguascalientes, Jalisco and San Luis Potosi to push for infrastructure projects and foreign direct investment that would benefit all Baj?o states.

"The Center-Baj?o-Occidente Alliance has positioned the region as one of the most important geographical points of innovation and growth for the logistics sector in the country," Gutierrez said.

Gutierrez said FedEx Express' new Le?n facility in Guanajuato will enable "efficient" transportation to 72 routes north of the city to Silao, Salamanca, La Piedad and Irapuato.

"It will also connect the main industrial parks with the highest international traffic volume, such as Puerto Interior and Castro del R?o," Gutierrez said. "FedEx Express is investing in the Bajio region because we are confident that there are growth opportunities in Guanajuato and its vicinity."

FedEx currently has hubs and monitored bonded warehouses in Toluca, Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico.

Across Latin America and the Caribbean, FedEx has 48 distribution centers, 14 air cargo terminals, 13 warehouses, 12 ground hubs and one macro logistics center.

FedEx operates an aircraft fleet of six planes across Latin America, including an Airbus 310 from Monterrey. The company also has a ground fleet of 1,243 vehicles and employs more than 5,000 people across Latin America.

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