FedEx Corp.�s ground package and less-than-truckload services made strides in 2003, gaining market share in two segments of US surface transport, The Colography Group, Inc., (LTL) said in issuing its full-year and fourth-quarter 2003 traffic and yield analysis of theU.S. trucking market. According to data, FedEx Ground, FedEx�s ground package unit, captured 14.8% of the $22.4 billion parcel market in 2003, up from 14% in 2002. It held 15.5% of ground package revenue and 17.8% of tonnage, up from 14.7% and 16.6%, respectively, in 2002.
 
FedEx Ground�s gains came largely at the expense of UPS. UPS� share of shipments, tonnage and revenue declined on a year-over-year basis, with its share of US domestic ground parcel shipments falling below 70% to 69.3%. Despite the share decline, UPS remains the dominant provider in the US domestic ground parcel market. Market share held by the U.S. Post Office and the category labeled �all others� remained virtually flat year-over-year. USPS, Airborne (now integrated with DHL) and the �all others� category accounted for about 16% of all shipments and 11% of all tonnage and revenue in 2003. FedEx Freight, the company�s LTL unit, captured 11.4% of all LTL shipments in 2003, up from 11% in 2002. Its share of LTL tonnage rose to 12.1% from 11.7%, and its share of revenue increased to 12% from 11%. Despite the market share gains, FedEx Freight�s shipments and tonnage were down year-over-year.
 
�Perhaps the most interesting trend will be the growing battle between UPS and FedEx for ground parcel share,� adds Scherck. �UPS remains the 800-pound gorilla, and it must be noted that FedEx�s share gains in 2003 were driven off a much smaller base. And, in Q1 of 2004, UPS� shipment count is up 6.9% compared to FedEx�s 5.8%. As our data indicates, FedEx Ground has emerged as a powerful player, and one UPS will always have to reckon with.�
 
Among the findings in the fourth quarter/annual 2003 edition of the U.S. Domestic Surface Traffic And Yield Analysis By Competitor and Market Segment:
� The top seven LTL carriers in 2003 controlled 64.4% of the shipments, 63.5% of the tonnage and 71.3% of the revenue. No single carrier controlled more than 14.5% in any of the three.
� Of the seven carriers profiled, USFreightways held the largest share in shipments and tonnage, while Yellow Corp. had the largest share of 2003 revenue. The year-over-year comparisons included results for the first nine months of 2002 from Consolidated Freightways Inc., which ceased operations in September 2002.
� More than 3.7 billion ground parcel shipments moved in US commerce in 2003, up from 3.6 billion shipments in 2002. Revenue of $22.4 billion in 2003 rose from $21.03 billion in 2002.
� Despite declining shipment share, UPS� 2003 ground parcel shipments � as well as revenue and tonnage � exceeded comparable 2002 figures.