Amazon.com

Where’s my parcel refund? Don’t hold your breath

FedEx and UPS delivery vans.

In late March 2020, with the country and much of the economy in lockdown as the coronavirus took hold, FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. suspended long-standing programs to refund shipping charges for late or missed deliveries guaranteed to arrive at specific times. The carriers explained they could no longer guarantee on-time deliveries given the unexpected avalanche of e-commerce delivery demand they were struggling with.

Nearly 21 months later, only a subset of the carriers’ refund programs have been...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wheres-my-parcel-refund-dont-hold-your-breath

Amazon may be expanding driver model to Europe

Amazon Prime Day puts e-commerce sellers in a bind

Amazon.com Inc. plans to expand its driver contractor model to Europe, according to a published report on Thursday.

The Information reported that, under a program called Amazon Freight Partner, the Seattle-based e-tailer will collaborate with small trucking companies in five countries — Germany, Spain, Poland, France and Italy — and train them to haul goods exclusively for Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). The goal is for Amazon to join with hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs in those countries, according...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-may-be-expanding-driver-model-to-europe

NLRB orders new representation vote at Amazon warehouse, union says

A brown Amazon warehouse with sign on front.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ordered that workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama be granted a second vote at union representation, according to the union that tried unsuccessfully to organize the workers in April.

In a statement on Monday, the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) disclosed that an NLRB regional director formally directed a new election at Amazon’s Bessemer facility. The union, which is a party to the case, did not share a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/nlrb-orders-new-representation-vote-at-amazon-warehouse-union-says

Will same-day, next-day parcel deliveries get Postal Service over hump?

The possible future of the U.S. Postal Service is being tested in Texas.

In mid-September, the Postal Service launched a pilot program to offer same-day parcel deliveries between multiple localities within the state. The program, USPS Connect, started in Dallas and Houston and has since been expanded to dozens of locations across Texas.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said Wednesday at a Postal Board of Governors meeting that the agency will soon begin filing for rate and service approvals with...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/will-same-day-next-day-parcel-deliveries-get-postal-service-over-hump

Amazon makes Black Friday the 1st Monday in October

The state of the same-day delivery market for Amazon and others

Amazon.com Inc. has moved its Black Friday shopping day up by seven weeks, a sign the mega-retailer wants holiday orders in the pipeline as soon as possible to avoid delivery snafus caused by persistent supply chain bottlenecks.

In an announcement Monday, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) said it was making “Black Friday-worthy” deals available “earlier than ever” across every product category. Black Friday, which historically falls on the day after Thanksgiving, is scheduled this year for Nov. 26. 

Amazon...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-makes-black-friday-the-1st-monday-in-october

For air cargo security, the past is prologue

Air cargo security has come far since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks turned the tools of transportation and trade into weapons of mass destruction. Until 9/11, the lone form of security in the U.S. was an unregulated program in which airlines vetted shippers to ensure they and their products were legitimate. The so-called known shipper program was enhanced following 9/11 and remains in effect. Today, a shipper must be known to the carrier in order to load cargo aboard a passenger flight...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/for-air-cargo-security-the-past-is-prologue

Teamster presidential debate makes whipping boy out of autonomous trucks

If reality matches the rhetoric from the two candidates vying to lead the Teamsters union for the next five years, autonomous trucks will operate only over the union’s collective dead body.

In the first presidential debate since the Teamsters began holding full elections in 1991, Steve Vairma and Sean O’Brien voiced opposition to autonomous trucks, calling them dangerous, reckless and a threat to union jobs. O’Brien, president of Local 25 in Boston, said he feared the scenario of a four-deep...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/teamster-presidential-debate-makes-whipping-boy-out-of-autonomous-trucks

Amazon to hire 75K workers for North American logistics, fulfillment

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) said Thursday that it will hire 75,000 logistics and fulfillment workers in North America at an average starting wage of $17 an hour.

Most of the hires will be at the Seattle-based company fulfillment locations and its burgeoning network of local delivery centers, which are expected to spring up across the continent as Amazon positions its final-mile delivery network as close to end customers as possible.

Amazon has 409 delivery stations in the U.S., 344 of which...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/amazon-to-hire-75k-workers-for-north-american-logistics-fulfillment

+ More