Overview
- Amazon announced Wednesday that its less-than-truckload service will now accept shipments from businesses of any size and deliver to any U.S. destination including third-party warehouses, distribution centers and retail partners.
- The LTL offering includes next-day live pickup for orders placed by 5 p.m., same-day drop-trailer pickup, standing daily pickups for high-volume shippers, automated appointment scheduling and electronic proof of delivery.
- Amazon says the service runs on the same transport footprint it uses for its own logistics, citing more than 80,000 trailers, 24,000 intermodal containers and terminal access that enable real-time GPS tracking and sensor-equipped fleet monitoring.
- The announcement prompted an immediate market reaction with shares of major LTL carriers such as Old Dominion, Saia, XPO and FedEx Freight slipping as investors weighed competitive pressure on incumbents.
- Analysts say Amazon is initially routing third-party freight through existing capacity rather than building a full terminal network, which may limit near-term disruption but could allow the company to take incremental share and put pressure on rates and utilization over the next several years.