FedEx experienced network disruptions due to global IT outage

(Reuters) – FedEx Corp said on Friday it faced substantial disruptions throughout its networks due to a global IT outage experienced by a third party software vendor.

A global tech outage was disrupting operations in multiple industries on Friday, with airlines halting flights, some broadcasters going off-air and everything from banking to healthcare hit by system problems.

It was not clear if the network disruption reported by FedEx were related to outages at Microsoft and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.

“Contingency plans have been activated to mitigate impacts but potential delays are possible for package deliveries with a delivery commitment of July 19,” FedEx said.

Peer United Parcel Service also warned of potential delivery delays and added that contingency plans were in place.

Railroad operator Union Pacific Corp said the CrowdStrike software outage had “varying levels of impact” across its network but added that backup protocols helped it communicate with its teams and dispatchers.

(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)