Expeditors Announces First Quarter 2009 Net Earnings of $.27

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD) today announced net earnings attributable to shareholders of $59,260,000¹ for the first quarter of 2009, as compared with $66,472,000 for the same quarter of 2008, a decrease of 11%. Net revenues for the first quarter decreased 10% to $336,515,000 as compared with $374,328,000 reported for the first quarter of 2008. Total revenues and operating income were $912,685,000 and $91,474,000 in 2009, as compared with $1,307,321,000 and $105,564,000 for the same quarter of 2008, decreases of 30% and 13%, respectively. Diluted net earnings attributable to shareholders per share for the first quarter were $.27 as compared with $.30 for the same quarter in 2008, a decrease of 10%. The Company also reported that same store net revenues and operating income decreased 10% and 13%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2009, as compared with the same period in 2008.

"While this quarter was unusual, our people did an outstanding job capitalizing on spot market buying opportunities, particularly the airfreight group. The March quarter end rush did not materialize to the extent that we’ve experienced it in the past,” commented Peter J. Rose, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We obviously would liked to have reported higher quarterly earnings. However, we saw no long-term benefit in resorting to short term measures, like employee layoffs or other actions which could severely damage the value of our network by compromising our customer service capability, just to pick up a couple of cents per share. We have not forgotten that ours is a service business. Our people are our most valuable assets. It is they who have worked diligently year-in-and-year-out to deliver the kind of customer service and operating efficiencies that created that value in the first place. There are many things that we could say about these results, but ours is not a culture of excuses and looking backwards. It is a culture of taking responsibility and moving forward. We’ve never ‘lived for the quarter,’ and we certainly aren’t going to start doing so now. Quarters come and quarters go, but long term stability at Expeditors comes from staying true to the established and proven tenets of Expeditors’ culture," Rose said.

"Like most businesses, we’ve been faced with difficult options these past several months. Fortunately our culture has always proven to be our most effective compass. The value of our most vital assets, our people, is not shown on our balance sheet. The value they create in servicing our customers, however, manifests itself daily. It would be inconsistent with our culture that those who create and sustain value bear the brunt of these times. We’ve always run lean, so our people remain busy and engaged. We continue to take market share and operate profitably. We have record cash balances, strong cash flow, and robust operating margins,” Rose continued. "One of our District Managers recently asked if I thought 2009 was going to be a ‘scary’ year. The response was easy. ‘No, 1981, when we first began operations, was a scary year. It was in the middle of a very severe recession. We had no customers, we had no money, we had no global network and there were only 20 of us. By contrast, 2009 has tremendous opportunities. We have some 10,000 customers, we have nearly $900 million in cash, we have a global network of 250 offices and there are over 12,000 of us. Now is not a time to be scared, it’s time to go sell some more business’...and that is just what we intend to do,” concluded Rose.

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company employs trained professionals in 181 full-service offices, 68 satellite locations and 4 international service centers located on six continents linked into a seamless worldwide network through an integrated information management system. Services include air and ocean freight forwarding, vendor consolidation, customs clearance, marine insurance, distribution and other value added international logistics services.

¹ These results include a $3,123,000 credit to compensation expense. This credit ”trues up” the difference between the higher actual pre-vesting forfeiture experience and the pre-vesting forfeiture assumptions used to calculate stock option expense, as required by FAS 123R, related primarily to stock options granted in 2006 which begin vesting in May 2009.

Certain portions of this release contain forward-looking statements which are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual future results and trends may differ materially from historical results or those projected in any forward-looking statements depending on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, our ability to maintain consistent and stable operating results, future success of our business model, ability to perpetuate profits, changes in customer demand for Expeditors’ services caused by a general economic slow-down, inventory build-up, decreased consumer confidence, volatility in equity markets, energy prices, political changes, or the unpredictable acts of competitors and other risks, risk factors and uncertainties detailed in our Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

During the first quarter of 2009, the Company opened one full-service office in New Orleans, Louisiana (formerly a satellite of Houston, Texas) and one satellite office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Company closed one full-service office in Port Louis, Mauritius.

Investors may submit written questions via e-mail to: investor@expeditors.com

Or by fax to: (206) 674-3459

Questions received by the end of business on May 8, 2009 will be considered in management’s 8-K "Responses to Selected Questions” expected to be filed on or about May 15, 2009.