Dive Brief:
- Amazon is now offering less-than-truckload services to customers shipping inbound to its fulfillment facilities, according to an April 4 news release.
- Customers can access the new offering via the e-commerce giant’s self-service portal. The platform provides quotes for shipments 14 days out, comparisons of FTL and LTL options and status tracking for shipment loads. Billing, invoicing and online payment features are also available.
- The new LTL capability has access to over 60,000 trailers and thousands of lanes across the U.S., per the news release.
Dive Insight:
Amazon’s entrance into the LTL space comes as no surprise after reports surfaced that the company intended to add the capability as part of its freight services.
Earlier this year, J.P. Morgan said in a research note that Amazon aimed to launch such a service, potentially in 2026. In addition, job postings providing further evidence of the company’s LTL plans.
Amazon’s latest move could represent “good disruption” for an industry dominated by incumbent carriers who generate great profits and strong pricing power, Scooter Sayers, an industry consultant, told Trucking Dive in March.
“Seems ripe for a large player with new ways of doing things,” he said.
Introducing LTL services in the U.S. builds on Amazon’s efforts in international markets. In 2024, the company launched an LTL program in Germany, which was an expansion of its LTL offering in the United Kingdom.
Currently, Amazon’s U.S. LTL service is limited to customers shipping inbound to its fulfillment centers. But the company will continue to evaluate shippers’ needs on the new service.
“We have been listening closely to our customers and understand their desire to have more ways to move their freight,” Ari Silkey, general manager of Amazon Freight, said in the news release. “With LTL, they are now getting access to Amazon’s trusted infrastructure and cutting-edge technology to move more of their loads into Amazon’s fulfillment centers.”
