"While overall economic growth has slowed, there are several indicators for a healthy holiday season," said Fred Smith, chairman, president, and CEO of FedEx"Consumer spending remains steady, and e-commerce will continue to drive holiday spending while sales of luxury goods and electronics should remain strong."

On-line retail forecasts by TNS Retail Forward show an expected $42 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 vs. a total of $35 billion during the prior-year holiday shoppingThat would make on-line retail just over 8% of total holiday retail sales.

FedEx Express will see a slightly later volume peak than its ground parcel counterpart with volumes expected to reach 5 million packages on December 17th, says the companyThe predictions were part of a statement that the global transportation and logistics company expects to break its own company volume records for the 10th consecutive year.

The combined total for FedEx Express and FedEx Ground package volume on December 17th could top 11 million packages vs. a normal daily average of over 7 million.

The Kinko's franchise could see a 12% gain over its busiest day last year with an expected 345,000 FedEx Express and FedEx Ground packages shipped on December 17th.

Will little Johnny get his gift on time? FedEx expects an average of 6.5 million on-line tracking requests per day during the peak month of DecemberIt normally processes 3.5 million tracking requests per dayThe company anticipates its highest volume tracking day will see 8 million requests.