Amazon Is Building Its Own UPS. Sellers Are Paying for It.

Amazon Is Building Its Own UPS. Sellers Are Paying for It. — Astra BlogBreaking UPS has already dropped 1 million Amazon packages per day and will cut another million by mid-2026

The Carrier Landscape Is Reshuffling Fast

Amazon is quietly losing its two biggest carrier partners in the same year. UPS is cutting Amazon shipping volume by more than 50% by mid-2026. They've already stopped handling 1 million Amazon packages per day. Another million per day is being cut this year. UPS is closing dozens of facilities, eliminating 30,000 jobs, and openly calling Amazon's business "extraordinarily dilutive" to their margins.

It's not just UPS. Amazon's USPS contract expires in October 2026, and renewal talks have stalled after USPS proposed a competitive bidding process that would force Amazon to compete for access it previously had locked in. FedEx walked away from Amazon ground delivery entirely back in 2019 and only recently returned for a limited oversized-package deal.

The pattern is clear: the major carriers have all decided Amazon's volume isn't worth the margin hit. Which is exactly why Amazon has been building its own alternative for years.

$4B+ Amazon invested in its own delivery network expansion 4,500 Delivery Service Partner businesses in Amazon's network 20M+ Packages delivered per day through Amazon's own network

What This Means for FBA Sellers, Tangibly

1. Inbound Shipping Costs Are Going Up

If you use Amazon's Partnered Carrier program to send inventory into FBA, you've been getting discounted UPS rates negotiated by Amazon in bulk — rates that currently save sellers 50–70% compared to retail shipping. As UPS reduces its Amazon commitment, the leverage behind those bulk discounts weakens.

Amazon may shift inbound logistics to other providers or absorb more of it internally. Owning the full operation could eventually bring costs down, but transitions don't start cheaper. They start more expensive while the infrastructure scales, and savings take years to materialize. If you're shipping 10+ pallets a month into FBA through partnered carriers, start getting quotes from freight brokers and 3PLs now.

2. Last-Mile Delivery Quality Is the Bigger Risk

When UPS and USPS handle fewer Amazon deliveries, Amazon's Delivery Service Partner network absorbs the difference. That network is already under strain. A coalition of delivery partners called DEFT formed in late 2025 to push back on Amazon's compensation structures, and rising operational costs are squeezing these small businesses.

Your account health metrics are tied to delivery performance you don't control. Late deliveries and "item not received" claims flow back to your seller account. When a delivery network absorbs millions of additional daily packages mid-transition, those metrics get noisier. Watch them closely over the next 6–12 months and document any uptick in delivery complaints — you'll need that data if you have to push back on account health flags.

3. This Accelerates Amazon's Fee Creep

Amazon building a delivery network that rivals UPS, USPS, and FedEx combined isn't free. They've invested over $16 billion in the Delivery Service Partner program since 2018, plus $4+ billion in rural expansion. That infrastructure has to be funded, and sellers are the revenue base.

We're already seeing the pattern. FBA base fulfillment fees increased again in January 2026. Inbound defect fees jumped 10–80x. Amazon discontinued FBA Prep Services, pushing that cost back to sellers and their 3PLs. Each individually is manageable. Together, they represent a structural trend: Amazon is building the most ambitious delivery network in history, and seller fees are funding a meaningful portion of it.

This isn't a complaint. It's a planning input. If your unit economics are tight today, assume they'll be tighter in 12 months. Model accordingly.

We've Seen This Playbook Before

In 2019, FedEx ended its ground delivery contract with Amazon. Sellers panicked. The actual result: Amazon accelerated its own network buildout, delivery times improved in metro areas, and costs went up across the board.

The UPS situation is the same playbook at a much larger scale. More packages get routed through Amazon's own network. Better speed in high-density areas. Worse reliability in rural and suburban markets during the transition. Higher costs passed through to sellers.

The pattern is consistent: every time Amazon loses a carrier partner, it builds more infrastructure, delivers faster in cities, and charges sellers more to fund it. Layer in tariff volatility reshaping supply chains at the same time, and you have multiple structural cost pressures converging in one year.

What to Actually Do About This

This isn't a panic situation. It's a pay-attention situation. Here's the practical response:

• 1 Review inbound shipping costs quarterly, not annually. If you've been on autopilot with partnered carriers, compare rates with negotiated accounts or freight brokers now. The gap is going to close, and at some point it may flip.
• 2 Watch delivery metrics more closely over the next 6–12 months. If you see an uptick in late delivery complaints or "item not received" claims, document the pattern. You'll need it if you have to push back on account health flags.
• 3 Build rising fulfillment costs into your unit economics now. If you're modeling 2026 profitability based on 2025 fee structures, you're going to be surprised. Assume a 5–10% increase in total FBA costs and check whether your margins still work.
• 4 Revisit your total cost of sale if you run significant ad spend. Advertising efficiency means less when fulfillment costs are eating the margin you gained. Run the numbers with updated fee assumptions before setting your 2026 ACOS targets.

The carriers are reshuffling. Amazon is adapting. The sellers who plan for it now will be fine. The ones who don't will wonder where their margins went.