What Is a FedEx CSA (Contracted Service Area)? How to Find Yours

At FedEx Ground, a CSA is a Contracted Service Area: the territory an Independent Service Provider (ISP) agreement covers, made up of whole or partial ZIP codes and street address ranges. The agreement identifies the CSA by a number, and in the agreements and statements we've read, the same number appears on the weekly settlement statement as its CSA code. A "CSA for sale" is an existing contractor's business that holds the agreement for one of these territories. None of this has anything to do with FMCSA's CSA safety program, which is covered below.

For what an ISP is, and how it differs from a linehaul TSP, see what is a FedEx ISP.

What FedEx means by a CSA

• A territory of ZIP codes and street ranges. FedEx's contracting FAQ says a pickup and delivery CSA can be one or more contiguous full or partial ZIP codes and street address ranges, business and residential, within minimum and maximum stop guidelines that depend on station size.
• Written into the agreement. In an ISP agreement (version 2024.06.01) filed publicly with the SEC, section 3 defines the CSA as the geographical area the ISP agreed to service, and Schedule A and its attachments set it out.
• Named by a number. Attachment A-1 to Schedule A gives the CSA's number, then its ZIP codes ("ALL" means the whole ZIP), any street ranges or specific stops, and any exclusions. Section 3 of the same attachment names the FedEx station it's serviced from.
• Ground and Home Delivery both. In the filed agreement, the ISP provides both FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery service throughout the entire CSA.
• One per agreement, per station. FedEx's FAQ allows a maximum of one CSA per service provider, per station, per agreement.

How to find your CSA, step by step

1. Open Attachment A-1 to your Schedule A. In the filed version, section 2.1 is headed "CSA Geographical Description" and starts with the CSA number.
2. Read the territory. The ZIP codes, street ranges and exclusions that follow are the area you're contracted to serve. See what the Schedule A ZIP list commits you to.
3. Note the station. Section 3 of the attachment names the FedEx station(s) the CSA is serviced from.
4. Find the code on your settlement. Each weekly statement shows a CSA code, labeled Contracted Service Area. Check that it matches the number in your A-1.
5. File each Schedule C by its CSA code. Keep every rate card labeled with its code and effective dates, and compare a statement only with the Schedule C for the same CSA. See how to read your Schedule C.

Why the CSA code matters on a settlement

Day to day you may run one operation: one terminal, one fleet, one team. On paper you may hold two or three CSAs, each with its own agreement and its own rates. That gap produces predictable traps:

• Comparing a statement to the wrong rate card. Check one CSA's statement against another CSA's Schedule C and every rate can look wrong, because the reference is wrong.
• Statements that cover more than one contract. Some statement files we've read blend more than one contract's charges. Their totals won't reconcile against any single rate card.
• Adding CSAs together without labels. Combine two CSAs into one weekly total, then compare it with a week where you counted only one, and you'll see swings that never happened.
• Assuming two CSAs pay the same. Two CSAs under the same owner can have different rates, different contract dates and different amendments.
• Assuming the territory never changed. In the filed agreement, a CSA can be redefined by written agreement, a USPS ZIP change, an assignment of the agreement, FedEx exercising its Right to Ensure Service, or as the agreement otherwise provides, by re-signing Attachment A-1. Compare the ZIP lists across your agreements rather than trusting that a familiar code means the same ground.

A worked example

These codes are made up, an example and not real ones. An owner's corporation holds CSA 100001 and CSA 100002, each with its own agreement and Schedule C. A bookkeeper checks a CSA 100002 statement against the Schedule C for 100001, the one already in the folder. The stop and package rates all look off, week after week. Nothing is wrong with the pay. The comparison is. Matched to the Schedule C for 100002, the same statement can be checked properly.

What does "CSA for sale" mean?

A "CSA for sale" listing is an existing ISP selling its business. What the buyer ends up with is the ISP agreement for that CSA, and that takes FedEx's consent. Under the filed agreement and FedEx's FAQ:

• Assignment needs written consent. Section 17 says neither party may assign the agreement without the other's prior written consent, which won't be unreasonably withheld. FedEx withholding consent counts as reasonable in listed cases, including when, in FedEx's judgment, the assignment would mean lower stop or package density or a redefined CSA.
• Selling the corporation counts. A change in control of the ISP, including a sale of its stock or assets, is treated as an assignment.
• Timing. FedEx agrees to answer in writing within 60 calendar days of being notified, and isn't obligated to consider an assignment the ISP proposes within 120 calendar days of the agreement's expiration date.
• The territory can change. Attachment A-1 lists an assignment as one of the events after which the CSA can be redefined. Read the A-1 the buyer would sign, not only the seller's.
• A set end date. The filed agreement has an expiration date and no provision for renewal, so ask how much term is left.
• FedEx isn't a party to the sale. The FAQ says FedEx doesn't facilitate sales. In some markets its "Assignee Marketplace" shares qualified candidates' contact details with current service providers, who may reach out.

This summarizes one filed agreement and FedEx's public FAQ. It isn't legal advice, and your agreement is the one that counts. More in how to buy a FedEx Ground route and red flags in route listings.

How is it different from an FMCSA CSA score?

At the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, CSA stands for Compliance, Safety, Accountability, FMCSA's safety compliance and enforcement program for motor carriers. Its Safety Measurement System uses roadside inspection and crash data from the last two years, plus investigation data, to identify carriers with safety problems. A "CSA score" is about a carrier's safety record. A FedEx CSA is a territory in a contract. Same letters, unrelated things.

Common questions

What does CSA stand for at FedEx?

Contracted Service Area. FedEx's FAQ and the filed ISP agreement both use the term.

Is a CSA the same as a route?

No. The CSA is the territory in the agreement, and routes are planned inside it. FedEx's annual report describes route technology that service providers may use to plan delivery routes and vehicle mix.

Can one owner have more than one CSA?

Yes, within FedEx's rule of one CSA per service provider, per station, per agreement. Two CSAs mean two agreements, two stations or two corporations, and each CSA has its own Schedule C.

Can my CSA change during the agreement?

Under the filed agreement, only for the reasons listed above, and the change is recorded by re-signing Attachment A-1.

Where is the CSA code on a settlement statement?

It's labeled Contracted Service Area. Read it before any number on the page. See how to read a settlement statement.

One CSA at a time

Route Impact exists to make FedEx Ground operations more profitable. Your AI staff finds the profit in the contract you sign, the routes you run, the drivers you pay, the trucks you keep and the books you close, and it keeps each CSA's numbers apart. Each settlement week is recorded per CSA. Before your AI settlement auditor checks a statement's stop and package rates, service charge and brand promotion, it matches the CSA code to the Schedule C on file. If the codes don't match, or the statement covers more than one CSA, it runs no rate checks and says why. Anything it does find is flagged for your review with the evidence shown. We're operators too, and margins in this business are too tight to run the way they used to be run.