8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.  20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report:  September 29, 2008

(Date of earliest event reported)

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Washington	000-13468	91-1069248
(State or other jurisdiction of	(Commission File No.)	(IRS Employer Identification Number)
incorporation or organization)

1015 Third Avenue, 12th Floor, Seattle, Washington	98104
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

(206) 674-3400

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o    Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o    Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o    Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

On September 29, 2008, Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (“Expeditors”) announced that Bradley S. Powell, 48, be appointed as Expeditors’ Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective October 1, 2008.  A copy of the press release announcing the appointment of Mr. Powell is filed with this report as Exhibit 99.1.

Mr. Powell has served as Chief Financial Officer of Eden BioScience Corporation, a publicly-traded biotechnology company, since July 1998.  Since December 15, 2006, and during a brief interim from November 2001 to June 2002, he also served as President of Eden BioScience Corporation.  He has acted as Secretary of Eden BioScience Corporation since June 2000.

Mr. Powell will receive an annual base salary of $100,000 and will also be eligible to participate in the Company’s Executive Bonus Pool under the 2008 Executive Incentive Compensation Plan in an amount to be allocated by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors.  In addition, Mr. Powell will also be granted an option to purchase 5,000 shares from the 2008 Stock Option Plan as of the close of business on October 1, 2008.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)           Exhibits

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release of Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., dated September 29, 2008, reporting the appointment of a principal officer.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

EXPEDITORS INTERNATIONAL OF WASHINGTON, INC.

September 30, 2008	/s/ PETER J. ROSE
	Peter J. Rose, Chairman and
	Chief Executive Officer
September 30, 2008	/s/ R. JORDAN GATES
	R. Jordan Gates, President and
	Chief Operating Officer

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release of Expeditors International of Washington, Inc., dated September 29, 2008, reporting the appointment of a principal officer.

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

PRESS RELEASE

By:	Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.
	1015 Third Avenue, Suite 1200
	Seattle, Washington 98104

CONTACT:	R. Jordan Gates
	President and Chief Operating Officer
	(206) 674-3427	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Expeditors appoints Bradley S. Powell as Chief Financial Officer

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – September 29, 2008 Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD), the international logistics company today said that Bradley S. Powell has accepted the position of Chief Financial Officer.  Mr. Powell has most recently served as President, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Eden BioScience Corporation (EDEN), a publicly-traded biotechnology company. Before being promoted to this position, Mr. Powell was Eden’s Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance.  Prior to his experience with EDEN, Mr. Powell spent four years as the Vice-President and Corporate Controller of Omega Environmental, Inc, also a publicly-traded corporation.  Mr. Powell started his career with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (which later became part of KPMG, the international accounting firm), where he spent ten years, two of those years on a international assignment, rising to the position of Senior Manager.  He has a B.S. Degree in Accounting from Central Washington University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

“We are very pleased to have someone with Brad’s experience and abilities join our executive team,” said R. Jordan Gates, President and Chief Operating Officer (and currently acting CFO).  “Expeditors has had a relatively low turnover throughout the years, particularly within our executive ranks. There have only been two CFO’s in the company’s nearly 30 year history and, accordingly, we thought long and hard before making the decision to fill this position externally.  We are also known, however, as a company that ‘hires for attitude and trains for skill’ when that ‘right person’ presents themselves.  That ‘right person’ is one who has demonstrated, through past achievements, that they possess the experience and attitude of someone who can be readily trained in the industry-specific skills they’ll need to excel and make a contribution at Expeditors. We think Brad has all of those qualities that make him that ‘right person’ to become our CFO.  Brad will start with us on October 1^st and his first priority will be to spend sufficient time training in both our operations and in our financial departments, at a ‘hands-on desk level’ to enable him to thoroughly understand both the importance of our business practices and the value of our culture.  We’re confident he’ll be a great CFO and we look forward to his contributions,” concluded Mr. Gates.

Expeditors is a global logistics company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. The company employs trained professionals in 180 full-service offices, 69 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.

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains a forward-looking statement which is 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 the forward looking statement depending on a variety of factors including but not limited to changes in customer demand for Expeditors’ services caused by a general economic slow-down, inventory build-up, decreased consumer confidence, volatility in equity markets, or the unpredictable acts of competitors.