Circle International Shareholders Approve New Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 1999--

Employees of Circle International Group, Inc. will be able to purchase the company's common stock at a 15% discount to the market, under a new Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP) approved by shareholders at the company's annual meeting of shareholders last week.

The plan was endorsed earlier by Circle's Board of Directors and was approved by 97 percent of shares voted. "We are gratified with the overwhelming support of our shareholders for this plan," noted David I. Beatson, chairman, president and CEO of Circle, which provides international transportation, logistics and supply chain management services. "This is an important initiative that will help further align the interests of our employees more closely with those of our shareholders."

Also at the annual meeting, Beatson was elected to a new three-year term as a member of the Board, along with Wesley J. Fastiff, president of the law firm Littler, Mendelson. Beatson joined Circle in July 1998 as president and CEO and became Chairman in January this year. Fastiff has been a member of Circle's board since 1971.

The company prepared the ESPP earlier this year following feedback from employees, who expressed interest in an opportunity to take payments earned under the company's new global incentive compensation plan in Circle stock versus cash. "I was encouraged by the interest of our employees," Beatson noted. "This is certainly an expression of confidence in our new incentive plan, as well as a strong vote of support in the strategic initiatives for growth we laid out for Circle, and have been implementing, since late last year."

Under the ESPP, participating employees contribute funds through payroll deduction and can assign up to 15% of their eligible compensation. Regular payroll contributions and incentive payments may be used for the plan. The payroll deductions are used to purchase shares of Circle common stock for the participating employee. Purchases are made at a price that is 85% of the average market value for the common stock over a specified period during each enrollment cycle. The plan provides the company with the option of using treasury stock or newly issued shares. A maximum of 250,000 shares of Common Stock are available for issuance pursuant to the plan.

The plan is being submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission for regulatory approval and is expected to be rolled out to employees this summer.

About Circle: Circle International Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRCL) celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1998. Today, with annual revenues of $738 million, more than 4,600 employees and 323 offices in over 100 countries, Circle provides worldwide transportation and logistics services that include air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, materials management, trade procurement, warehousing and inventory control programs, and global supply chain management services. More information about San Francisco-based Circle is available at www.circleintl.com.