Amazon builds its own containers and becomes one of the top five trans-Pacific transporters

According to shipping analysts, Amazon is now not only an e-commerce platform but also a large shipping company.

Amazon has been leasing private cargo ships and planes and building its own shipping containers for years to better control logistics and delivery, moves that have helped as global supply chains have been disrupted this year.

By renting private cargo ships to deliver goods, Amazon can control where the goods go and avoid crowded ports. Shipping analyst Steve Ferreira said that currently, after a cargo ship arrives in Los Angeles, it will wait at least two to three weeks at the port and warehouse before it can be shipped out. Amazon can ship the goods to an obscure port in Washington and then transport them to Los Angeles by truck.

Amazon has been investing more in order to control as much of the shipping process as possible . It spent more than $61 billion on shipping in 2020, compared with less than $38 billion in 2019 .   Consulting   Amazon now delivers 72% of packages itself, up from 47% in 2019 , according to data from the Amazon.com Inc.

Despite this, according to e-commerce management platform Commerce   According to IQ data, the number of out-of-stock items on Amazon has increased by 14% since January 2021, and the average price has increased by 25%.

In addition to renting cargo ships, Amazon also manufactures its own 53-foot containers in China . Since the beginning of this year, there has been a shortage of containers , supply has exceeded demand, waiting times are long, and container shipping prices have increased more than 10 times compared to before the epidemic .

"Amazon has probably produced 5,000 to 10,000 of these containers in the past two years , " Ferreira said. "When they bring them to the U.S., they can be reused in domestic transportation and rail systems."

In 2017, Amazon quietly began operating as a global freight forwarder through a Chinese subsidiary, helping Chinese sellers participating in FBA to transport goods across the ocean. "They provide more than 10,000 containers per month for small and medium-sized Chinese exporters," Ferreira said. " Amazon 's ocean freight business will put them among the top five transport companies in the trans-Pacific region. "

For some higher -margin items, Amazon has reportedly leased at least 10 long-haul aircraft to avoid ports and ship goods directly from China to the United States more quickly.

As an e-commerce platform, Amazon’s control over the transaction process permeates every aspect. On the one hand, it can provide better services for both buyers and sellers, and on the other hand, it also strengthens control over both parties. This can be said to have both advantages and disadvantages for sellers.

Amazon

transportation

cargo ship