This Delivery Company Surpasses UPS and FedEx in Epic Takeover

In an astounding triumph that’s sending shockwaves through the logistics industry, Amazon.com has seized the throne as the biggest delivery business in the U.S., leaving giants UPS and FedEx in its revolutionary wake. 

This seismic shift marks a new era in parcel delivery, with Amazon’s dominance only set to surge further ahead in 2023.

A decade ago, the mere thought of Amazon challenging, let alone surpassing, the incumbents would have been laughed off as ludicrous. 

But now, the Seattle-based e-commerce behemoth, once a major client for UPS and FedEx, has flipped the script, leaving industry veterans and analysts eating their words.

Internal Amazon data and sources close to the matter have spilled the beans: by 2022, Amazon had already delivered more than 4.8 billion packages in the U.S. alone, eclipsing UPS and leaving FedEx in the dust. 

With an eye-popping projection of around 5.9 billion deliveries by year-end, Amazon is not just winning the race but redefining it.

The staggering numbers don’t lie. While UPS and FedEx include packages handed off to the postal service in their tallies, Amazon’s figures are pure, undiluted, and unassailable. UPS’s volume this year is unlikely to exceed last year’s 5.3 billion, and FedEx’s domestic parcel volume has touched around 3.05 billion. 

Amazon, meanwhile, is on an unstoppable march toward unparalleled logistics supremacy.

FedEx and UPS might be focusing on more profitable parcels now, but Amazon’s relentless growth, combined with strategic shifts at its competitors, has reshaped the delivery landscape beyond recognition. 

This logistical coup came without the usual fanfare or chest-thumping from Amazon, which is currently under the FTC’s microscope.

Amazon’s rise to the top wasn’t just rapid; it was meteoric. In 2016, FedEx’s then-CEO Fred Smith dismissed the idea of Amazon as a threat as “fantastical.” 

Fast forward to today, and Amazon has not just caught up but has built one of the largest logistics networks in the world.

In 2018, Amazon launched a game-changing program, enabling entrepreneurs to start their franchises delivering Amazon packages. 

With around 200,000 drivers in the U.S., this program turbocharged Amazon’s delivery capabilities.

The pandemic was a pivotal moment for Amazon. 

The company seized the opportunity to expand its e-commerce reach, nearly doubling its logistics network size. 

This build-out was largely spearheaded by Amazon’s former CEO of consumer, Dave Clark, a major architect of Amazon’s logistics network.

Amazon’s strategy to regionalize its logistics network has paid dividends, resulting in increased purchase frequency by its Prime members. 

While Amazon has outstripped UPS and FedEx in residential delivery, it still has ground to cover in replicating its global coverage and pick-up and delivery operations.

FedEx has refocused its strategy beyond Amazon, claiming to have taken market share in segments of the U.S. domestic package market this year. 

UPS, meanwhile, has shifted towards higher-margin parcels from other segments, including healthcare and smaller businesses.

As Amazon rewrites the rules of the delivery game, the implications are profound, not just for UPS and FedEx but for the entire logistics industry. 

The race for delivery supremacy has a new frontrunner, and its name is Amazon. The question now is, can anyone catch up?