Exhibit 99.1

EARNINGS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EXPEDITORS REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER 2020 EPS OF $1.16

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - February 16, 2021, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPD) today announced fourth quarter 2020 financial results including the following highlights compared to the same quarter of 2019:

“We moved more freight in the fourth quarter of 2020 than in any other quarter in our history,” said Jeffrey S. Musser, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We set Company bests in airfreight tonnage and ocean containers shipped, as well as in revenue, operating income and net earnings. All 17,500 people in our international network performed at levels we have never experienced before and in one of the most challenging operating environments in our 40-year history. I cannot thank our people enough and am tremendously proud to be part of an organization capable of performing at these levels while facing so many disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I credit our strong knowledge-based culture and our ability to collectively work as one team as primary factors in our success.

“Air buy and sell rates were elevated and volatile during the quarter, and supply and demand remained severely out of alignment, as demand for certain goods, particularly from North Asia, drove record high air tonnage. Air capacity remained extremely tight, as passenger flights have not returned to anywhere near their pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. We anticipate that air supply/demand and pricing conditions are likely to remain unsettled well into 2021.

“Our ocean services business also experienced significant marketplace imbalance during the quarter, as demand soared and volumes increased, particularly on exports from North and South Asia, which drove higher average buy and sell rates. In addition, port congestion from labor and equipment shortages have significantly disrupted sailing schedules. We expect the pressure on buy rates to remain elevated until those conditions subside.

“In addition to our diverse workforce and our inclusive culture, our solid performance was largely based on the strength of our carrier relationships – both in air and ocean. Here, too, I applaud the extra focus and dedication of our people to keep those relationships strong and to secure available space for our customers in such unpredictable conditions. The marketplace remains very fluid. Despite some signs of improved COVID-19 conditions in certain parts of the world, supply chains continue to be disrupted. We remain focused on keeping our people safe, first and foremost, while continuing to serve our customers at the very highest level.”

Bradley S. Powell, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, added, “We also experienced strong growth in Customs Brokerage, Order Management, Transcon and Distribution, as our customers’ businesses improved and we on-boarded new customers. These latest results are particularly striking in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2019, when average sell rates had declined faster than our average buy rates, and both air and ocean volumes fell as slowing trade to and from China impacted overall freight movement around the globe just as the earliest effects of COVID-19 were being felt. While we are unable to predict how ongoing disruptions related to COVID-19 will affect our future operations or financial results going forward, we do not expect these unprecedented operating conditions to persist long-term. We will continue to make important investments in people, processes and technology, as well as to invest in our strategic efforts to explore new areas for profitable growth.”

Mr. Powell noted that the Company’s effective tax rate for the full year of 2020 was 27.0%, compared to 25.6% in 2019. Earnings of our international subsidiaries, which on average have higher effective tax rates when compared to U.S. Federal and State tax rates, were proportionally higher in 2020 than in the U.S.

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The Company employs trained professionals in 176 district offices and numerous branch locations located on six continents linked into a seamless worldwide network through an integrated information management system. Services include the consolidation or forwarding of air and ocean freight, customs brokerage, vendor consolidation, cargo insurance, time-definite transportation, order management, warehousing and distribution and customized logistics solutions.

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¹Diluted earnings attributable to shareholders per share.

NOTE:  See Disclaimer on Forward-Looking Statements on the following page of this release.

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

Fourth Quarter 2020 Earnings Release, February 16, 2021

Financial Highlights for the Three and Twelve months ended December 31, 2020 (Unaudited)

(in 000's of US dollars except per share data)

¹Directly related cost of transportation and other expenses totals Operating Expenses from Airfreight services, Ocean freight and ocean services and Customs brokerage and other services as shown in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

²Salaries and other operating expenses totals Salaries and related, Rent and occupancy, Depreciation and amortization, Selling and promotion and Other as shown in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

The twelve months ended December 31, 2019 includes the effect of changing our presentation of certain import services from a net to a gross basis and our revised presentation of destination services that started in the second quarter of 2019, which increased revenues and directly related operating expenses in customs brokerage and other services but did not change operating income.

During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2020, we repurchased 0.2 million and 4.6 million shares of common stock at an average price of $90.81 and $72.26 per share, respectively. During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2019, we repurchased 1.2 million and 5.3 million shares of common stock at an average price of $73.89 and $72.91 per share, respectively.

Investors may submit written questions via e-mail to: investor@expeditors.com. Questions received by the end of business on February 19, 2021 will be considered in management's 8-K “Responses to Selected Questions.”

Disclaimer on Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this news release are “forward-looking statements,” such as statements relating to management’s views with respect to future events and underlying assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including statements such as our expectations of continued volatility in air pricing, ongoing pressure for elevated buy rates in the ocean services business, that the COVID-19-related operating conditions will not continue long-term, and that the Company expects to continue making investments in people, processes and technology. Future financial performance could differ materially because of factors such as: our ability to perform at these levels while facing several disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including employee retention and their health and safety; our ability to execute during port congestion due to labor and equipment shortages and disrupted sailing schedules; the timing of passenger flights returning close to their pre-COVID-19 levels; the impact on our ocean volumes; continued volatility in airfreight and ocean buy and sell rates; our access to carrier capacity; our ability to keep our global offices open and operating; our ability to execute our business continuity plans; the strength of our financial position and our ability to continue to make investments in our strategic initiatives; our ability to remain a strong, healthy, unified and resilient organization; and the future impact of changes in the mix of domestic and foreign income on our effective tax rate. The COVID-19 pandemic could have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, including, without limitation, those related to the success of our strategy and desire to maintain historical unitary profitability, our ability to attract and retain customers, our ability to manage costs, interruptions to our information technology systems, the ability of third-party providers to perform and potential litigation as updated by our reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These and other factors are discussed in the Company’s regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of the Company’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Additional information will also be set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of this date, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update them except as required by law.

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Earnings

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARIES

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

AND SUBSIDIARIES

Business Segment Information

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

¹In 2019, the Company revised its process to record the transfer, between its geographic operating segments, of revenues and the directly related cost of transportation and other expenses for freight service transactions between Company origin and destination locations. This change better aligns revenue reporting with the location where the services are performed, as well as the transactional reporting being developed as part of the Company’s new accounting systems and processes. The change in presentation had no impact on consolidated or segment operating income. The 2019 results also include the effect of changing the presentation of certain import services from a net to a gross basis, which increased segment revenues and directly related operating expenses but did not change operating income. The impact of these changes on reported segment revenues was immaterial and prior year segment revenues have not been revised.

²Directly related cost of transportation and other expenses totals Operating Expenses from Airfreight services, Ocean freight and ocean services and Customs brokerage and other services as shown in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.

³Salaries and other operating expenses totals Salaries and related, Rent and occupancy, Depreciation and amortization, Selling and promotion and Other as shown in the Consolidated Statements of Earnings.