Florida East Coast Railway has been awarded the Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Innovative Carrier of the Year Award for 2004.

The prestigious award recognizes FEC's overall dedication to customer service, operational excellence and the ability to create unique solutions that met the needs within Wal-Mart's complex supply chain.

"Being recognized by Wal-Mart is a testament to FEC Railway's ability to meet Wal-Mart's transportation needs into its new Ft. Pierce distribution facility and validates our objective to provide value-added services to our intermodal customers. This is an outstanding recognition for FEC Highway Services, FEC's drayage service and the Railway. It exemplifies the dedicated efforts put forth by many FEC employees, over time," said John C. Lucas, FEC Vice-President/General Manager of Intermodal.

"Florida East Coast Railway provided outstanding service for Wal-Mart in 2004," said Tracy Rosser, Vice President of Wal-Mart Corporate Traffic. "It is our pleasure to recognize their associates for commitment to quality and customer service. Their great support throughout 2004 has ultimately allowed us to better serve our customers."

This year, Wal-Mart recognized twelve carriers for their outstanding service in their respective categories. Some of those categories included Small Package Carrier of the Year, Grocery Carrier of the Year, Rising Star Carrier of the Year and LTL Carrier of the Year.

Selection criteria for the award included revenue/growth, ease of doing business, communication, flexibility, customer service and follow-up/correction of errors.