Amazon's digital freight brokerage platform goes live

ID 143836577 © Andrei Gabriel Stanescu | Dreamstime.com

On the quiet – but not discreet enough that it wasn’t noticed by US trucking publication Freightwaves – Amazon has entered the freight brokerage industry in the US and is set to considerably challenge existing brokerages’ dominance. According to Freightwaves analysis, it is already undercutting existing road freight market spot rates by up to 25%. This is not only to build market share in the segment, but also secure capacity for its own transport needs during periods of higher demand: “We think that building a third-party logistics network will allow Amazon to blow out retail peak season. By taking no margin during soft freight seasons and keeping trucks running, AMZN will have capacity locked up and ready to move truly staggering e-commerce volumes in November and December.”