Amazon Expands Its LTL Freight Service To All US Businesses – Here’s What It Means

The move will benefit businesses of all sizes that want to ship smaller cargoes, typically ranging from 1 to 6 pallets or 150 to 15,000 pounds.

• The company made the move following strong demand from its selling partners and vendors.
• Amazon said the service expansion comes amid its three-decade effort to build its own logistics network across the U.S.
• Amazon vendors can now leverage the company’s massive fleet of 80,000 trailers and 24,000 intermodal containers to ship less-than-truckload freight.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) on Wednesday announced it has expanded its less-than-truckload shipping to all businesses as part of an expansion of services offered in its end-to-end logistics unit, Amazon Supply Chain Services.

At the time of writing, AMZN shares were down less than 1% in premarket trading. Shares of rival freight carriers FedEx Freight (FDXF) were down 4%, and UPS was down more than 2%.

Amazon Opens Freight Network To More Businesses

Amazon said its decision to expand LTL freight shipping was based on strong positive feedback and growing customer demand from its selling partners and vendors.

The move will benefit businesses of all sizes that want to ship smaller cargoes, Amazon said. By using the e-commerce giant’s logistics service, customers can load their goods onto a shared trailer, saving money compared to reserving and paying for a full truckload.

Amazon’s Massive Fleet: Why Does This Move Matter?

As a result, customers with freight to ship can now leverage Amazon’s fleet of more than 80,000 trailers and 24,000 intermodal containers, which offer ample transport capacity and GPS-powered tracking.

Amazon said the service expansion comes amid its three-decade effort to build its own logistics network across the U.S. That has helped the company overtake incumbent freight carriers USPS, UPS, and FedEx as the largest parcel carrier by volume in the country. 

Amazon Supply Chain Services was introduced in May this year, “to expand its third-party logistics capacity and support businesses in industries such as healthcare, automotive, manufacturing, and retail.”

What Do Retail Traders Think About AMZN?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment surrounding the AMZN stock remained in ‘bullish’ territory over the last 24 hours.

AMZN stock has gained more than 12% so far this year, outperforming the S&P 500 and UPS, but has underperformed against FedEx and FedEx Freight.

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