FedEx Ground

When RPS was founded on March 11, 1985, it intended to out-compete UPS Ground by focusing on efficiency and structuring itself for lower costs. One result of this drive for efficiency was RPS' use of barcodes on packages allowing it to track and sort shipments much more effectively. After an intensive effort to shift its operations to use the new technology, RPS became the first company able to track a package through the delivery cycle.

Its parent company, RSI, already owned a number of transportation companies including national less than truckload (LTL) carrier Roadway Express. This backing allowed RPS to grow quickly and by 1988 it was operating 130 terminals covering 70% of the US. After RSI spun off Roadway Express in 1995 and changed its name to Caliber System, RPS was its largest subsidiary.

In 1997, Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, contacted Dan Sullivan, co-founder of RPS and now president of Caliber System, about merging the two companies. FedEx, which at the time only offered air services, was under pressure from UPS which offered both air and ground services. By acquiring RPS, FedEx would get a fully fledged ground network to complement its existing air services. The acquisition of Caliber System was finalized in January 1998.

In preparation for this major acquisition, FedEx had reorganized as a holding company, FDX Corporation, in October 1997. When its acquisition of Caliber was finalized, FDX was the parent of both FedEx and Caliber's subsidiaries. It then embarked on significant reorganization to merge its existing business with the new subsidiaries. As part of this effort, it made broad changes to branding for the new acquisitions in 2000. FDX Corporation changed its name to FedEx Corporation, Federal Express was renamed FedEx Express, RPS became FedEx Ground, Caliber's same-day-critical trucking subsidiary, Roberts Express, became FedEx Custom Critical, and its LTL freight carrier, Viking Freight was re-branded FedEx Freight in 2001.

FedEx Ground launched a US residential delivery service, FedEx Home Delivery Service, in 2000. It was later renamed FedEx Home Delivery. In 2004, FedEx acquired New Berlin, Wisconsin-based parcel consolidator Parcel Direct from magazine and catalog printer Quad Graphics for $120 million. Following the acquisition, Parcel Direct was renamed FedEx SmartPost and became a subsidiary of FedEx Ground.

On January 14, 2013, FedEx named Henry Maier CEO and President of FedEx Ground, to take effect after David Rebholz retired on May 31, 2013.

Until 2018, most FedEx Ground US operations were five days a week, but this was expanded to six in September 2018 due to the rise in demand driven by e-commerce. Its US services were expanded again during the 2019 holiday peak season to seven days per week, a change which became permanent for the majority of the US population year-round in January 2020.

In 2021, a mass shooting occurred in the Indianapolis facility, killing 9 (including the perpetrator) and injuring 7. The attack was carried out by a former employee.

Services

FedEx Ground

FedEx Ground is the division's core package delivery service which delivers daily to all 50 US states with delivery timeframes of 1-5 days for the Contiguous United States and 3-7 days for Alaska and Hawaii. Its FedEx International Ground service ships packages between the United States and Canada and within Canada.

Given its focus on deliveries to commercial locations, FedEx ground had operated on a five-day a week schedule (Monday-Friday). However, in 2018, it changed its year-round operating schedule to six-days a week (Monday-Saturday) for most US locations and subsequently to seven-days a week in January 2020.

FedEx Home Delivery

FedEx Home Delivery is a residential delivery service available in the US. It was launched as FedEx Home Delivery Service in 2000 delivering five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday. In 2020, the service expanded to seven days a week to most of the US. The maximum per package weight was also increased from 70 pounds to 150 pounds at the same time bringing it inline with the FedEx Ground limit.

FedEx Ground Economy

FedEx Ground Economy is a subsidiary of FedEx Ground which provides a parcel consolidation service most commonly used for residential deliveries of small, lightweight parcels. It is cheaper than ground package delivery but speeds are generally one to two days slower. Parcels are trackable but delivery dates are not guaranteed. The service is available only to shippers who meet certain requirements and have a SmartPost contract in place with FedEx.