Amazon Freight expands to 48 states, furthering control of its logistics network

Amazon has expanded its freight service to the lower 48 states, from five Eastern states, the company confirmed in an email to Transport Dive. This spot freight service is designed for small and medium line-haul providers to carry loads for Amazon in the middle mile. Access to the freight site had been limited to line-haul providers Amazon had pre-approved to sign up for loads. The company has now opened the website for broader access to more carriers. Amazon jumped into the freight brokerage business in 2016. The service expanded in August 2018 to full truckload for dry van hauls in Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Amazon — with one of the world's largest market caps, $1.18 trillion — is an increasingly growing presence in many industries, not just e-commerce and retail. The entrance into freight hauling roiled the markets in 2019. A FreightWaves survey done in June 2019 found eight of 10 brokers and carriers viewed the market entry negatively, and several reported concerns that Amazon's size and scale would push down dry van spot rates.