Amazon opens full-scale, less-than-truckload shipping to all businesses

Key Points:

• Amazon expanded its less-than-truckload (LTL) service in 2025 from inbound deliveries to a traditional hub-and-spoke network, offering palletized shipments at lower costs than legacy LTL carriers, leveraging a large fleet of trailers and intermodal containers.
• Industry experts suggest Amazon's LTL model operates more like a freight broker without owning trucks or terminals, positioning it as a competitor to brokers like C.H. Robinson rather than asset-based carriers such as FedEx Freight or Old Dominion.
• The service focuses on economy lanes with multi-day delivery windows and relies heavily on intermodal transport, primarily competing with the economy segment of the LTL market dominated by companies like ArcBest and FedEx Freight.
• Amazon's LTL service features next-day live pickups, same-day drop-trailer options, real-time GPS tracking, automated scheduling, and enhanced cargo security, responding to positive feedback from selling partners seeking broader use.
• Analysts acknowledge Amazon's potential to gain meaningful market share in LTL despite starting with modest service levels, reflecting the company's flexible and iterative approach to entering transportation markets.