LEXINGTON — FedEx is weighing plans for a $14 million, 151-employee distribution center in Lexington County.
Neither the location of the package distribution center nor the timeline for its opening have been made public.
“FedEx Ground is engaged in discussions for the potential leasing of a package distribution center in Lexington,” the company said in a statement. “A project of this size requires careful planning and close coordination with the developer, city, county and state officials. As a matter of practice, FedEx does not publicly discuss specifics of a project until all aspects have been finalized.”
The shipping giant is currently in talks with Lexington County, seeking to secure tax breaks in exchange for its investment. The company also will hire 151 new full-time employees as part of the deal.
If Lexington County Council votes to approve the proposal, the company would pay personal property taxes at a reduced rate of 6 percent for 30 years, compared to the 10.5 percent rate typically paid on industrial equipment.
Logistics companies the world over experienced record shipping volumes driven by e-commerce amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
FedEx’s proposed center in Lexington County follows a strong year for the shipping company’s existing Midlands operations.
At the company’s regional air cargo hub, located at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, the company has transported an average of 12 million pounds of cargo per month to date this year with two to three flights coming in and out each day, according to airport Executive Director Mike Gula.
Five years ago, the company was averaging 8 million pounds a month.
“We’re still, by landed weights, the biggest air cargo airport in the state,” said Frank Murray, the airport’s director of planning and development.
It’s the growth in air cargo that has driven the airport’s strategy in developing nearby industrial parks — CAE Enterprise Industrial Park, home to companies like Harsco Rail, beer distributor Beverage South and heating and cooling equipment maker Allied Air Enterprises, and the new 803 Industrial Park — taking a logistics focus in its marketing and construction of buildings on the property.
