Dive Summary:

• Despite an average daily package volume growth of 10% at its ground division during the third quarter, FedEx reported profits Wednesday that fell well short of analysts' estimates.
• The third quarter includes the holiday season, and the ground volume growth parallels e-commerce's double-digit growth, but that growth wasn't enough to counter weakness in air freight and express that led to earnings per share of $1.23–15 cents lower than what analysts had forecast.
• The company will decrease capacity to and from Asia beginning April 1 and is currently making early retirement offers to thousands of employees as part of its business realignment program, and FedEx CFO Alan Graf Jr. said other actions are under way, including the possibility of temporarily or permanently grounding aircraft.

From the article:

... "The third quarter was very challenging due to continued weakness in international air freight markets, pressure on yields due to industry overcapacity and customers selecting less expensive and slower-transit services," said FedEx chairman, president and CEO Fred Smith. ...