Amazon acquired its own branded railway containers as part of a strategy to develop its own logistics competencies and the infrastructure that provides them, TASS reports citing Journal of Commerce.
According to the publication, Amazon aims to better control the rail transportation of its goods in the United States. For the pilot project, the corporation purchased about 250 53-foot containers.
“Intermodal containers will be used to deliver our goods in the middle mile by rail without intermediaries,” Amazon spokeswoman commented on the project for JOC.com.
Amazon launches its pilot project one year after the launch of a similar Walmart program in California. In May of this year, Amazon.com and Walmart met with class I railways to discuss direct contracts without intermediaries.
Amazon and Walmart have been actively developing their own logistics operations in recent years.
The Amazon Container Program is part of its broader strategy to provide customers with a comprehensive logistics solution platform. Last summer, Amazon received the status of a non-ship operating carrier (NVO), and later launched its own brokerage service for the trucking market. Since 2016, the corporation has been developing aviation operations. Amazon's new air terminals are due to be operational this year at Fort Worth, Texas, Wilmington, and Ohio at Chicago Rockford International Airport. The construction of its own airport in Cincinnati will be completed in 2021.