Amazon Logistics -- Commentary -- January 30, 2024

Locator: 46687AMZN.

Amazon, UPS, FedEx: our apartment complex is about five minutes from the DFW airport which is surrounded by Amazon fulfillment centers and international Amazon hubs. Amazon keeps building inside, outside, and in-between.

• inside: robots, AI, logistics
• outside: new huge facilities
• in-between: brand new vans

In our apartment complex, this is what I'm seeing:

• no less than six brand new Amazon vans make deliveries between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. everyday of the week, (that's almost 24/7)
• we generally see one FedEx truck come through every day but generally not on weekends
• I assume Big Brown -- UPS -- comes through the complex every day, but it seems there are days that I don't recall a Big Brown van coming by at all
• Big Brown used to be a big deal in the apartment complex; no more
• Amazon is no longer a two-day delivery service; it's hardly even a one-day delivery service any more; even for routine stuff I don't need right away, when I put in an order I will get it in less than six hours
• for our Mardi Gras party two days ago (Sunday), I ordered something Sunday late morning and it arrived at 5:00 p.m. the same day -- this was on a Sunday
• Amazon can almost always get me routine deliveries overnight but I generally request a later delivery day (usually one day later) so multiple orders can arrive at the same time
• Amazon provides me an incentive for that option -- I actually can't recall the incentive because I don't care about the incentive; I just want my orders lumped together
• more and more I order non-perishable (especially paper products, K-cups, etc) by subscription; saves an incredible 15% -- results in less spending at local grocery stores;
  
• when FedEx (or Big Brown) comes through, the delivery man jumps out and carries a single package, often a big envelope -- incredibly inefficient and expensive --  measured by items delivered per driver, per van, per route 
• FedEx vans are generally in bad shape; look old, worn out, old tires
  
• when the Amazon driver jumps out, he has several boxes and it's not unusual to see the driver make multiple returns to the truck to pick up more items at same stop
• bright, shiny new vans 
• not mentioned? USPS -- clearly exceeds deliveries by FedEx and Big Brown combined
  

I could write much more -- especially on the business model but I have to move on, but look at these four ways for Americans to mail packages. Which one -- one -- is the outlier?

• US Postal Service
• FedEx
• UPS -- Big Brown
• Amazon

UPS: implodes; it's a one off but this is huge; miss on revenue; beat on earnings; 12,000 jobs cut. But as noted, it's a one-off: poorly run; loss to FedEx, and, of course, the 600-pound gorilla, Amazon.