Amazon Absorbs UPS Volume After Carrier Cuts Ties
UPS has completed its 18-month process of gradually reducing its relationship with Amazon, eliminating about 2 million packages per day that were considered 'lower-quality' volume. The change will save UPS around $4.5 billion in expenses.
The impact on Amazon, however, is significant. With the volume no longer moving through UPS trucks, Amazon has had to absorb it itself or pass it along to other carriers like the US Postal Service.
According to logistics data firm ShipMatrix, Amazon handled an estimated 6.7 billion U.S. parcels in 2025, making it the country's largest parcel carrier by volume. The company's own delivery network is expanding rapidly, with a $4 billion investment to triple its rural delivery footprint and grow its capacity to handle over a billion additional packages per year.
Amazon's shipping costs have risen 19% in the second quarter of this year, reaching $27.9 billion, outpacing the company's 15% online-store sales growth.