FedEx to end ground delivery business with Amazon

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee addresses reporters at a news conference announcing an investment by shipping giant FedEx Corp. of $450 billion to help modernize its Memphis hub on Friday. Aug.2, 2019 in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee addresses reporters at a news conference announcing an investment by shipping giant FedEx Corp. of $450 billion to help modernize its Memphis hub on Friday. Aug.2, 2019 in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx said it will no longer make ground deliveries for Amazon as the online shopping giant builds its own fleet and becomes more of a threat to delivery companies.

The announcement Wednesday comes two months after FedEx terminated its air delivery contract with Amazon. FedEx said dumping Amazon is part of its plan to go after more e-commerce deliveries from other companies.

Traditional retailers like Walmart and Target want to sell more of their goods online, which in turn allows FedEx to distance itself from Amazon.com without suffering the same competitive damage it might once have.

“This does not come as a surprise to us,” Citi Research analyst Christian Wetherbee said in a note to clients. “The company is clearly trying to move away from its partnership with Amazon and we believe it is using this move as a selling point to win new non-Amazon business.”

Cowen analyst Helane Becker said FedEx’s profit margin on Amazon shipments is probably in the “very low single digits,” and she believes the company can replace those packages with more profitable business from other retailers.