Amazon is looking to ramp up its freight forwarding business as the e-commerce giant continues to expand its supply chain offering. The company is looking to grab market share in freight forwarding by offering low price container shipping services. Amazon has had a presence in the forwarding market for a few years, but the Handelsblatt report indicates the e-commerce company is now looking to ramp up operations. Forwarding services are available to retailers that sell on the Amazon online marketplace under the company’s Amazon Global Logistics (AGL) brand. The company is offering an 8% discount on ocean shipping services for the first 60 days after onboarding. Current spot market prices for shipping services from rate portal Freightos for China/East Asia to North Europe are around $14,700 per 40 ft container, although contract prices should be lower. Now AGL offers transport from mainland China and Hong Kong to fulfillment centers in the US, UK, European Union (EU), and Japan.
The company is in the process of expanding our services to other geographies, including India, Vietnam, and Thailand, for select transportation modes. It offers standard ocean FCL and LCL and airfreight and end-to-end solutions including local pickup, palletization, labeling, cargo insurance service, and customs clearance at origin and destination. On airfreight, AGL offer dedicated charter flights with a typical seven-day transit time from origin to fulfillment center.