Weather events, capacity questions, and geopolitical disruptions. No day is the same in freight and that’s certainly been true the first quarter of 2024.

At Amazon Freight, we’ve had a lot going on ourselves as we serve our customers’ shipping needs. Check out the below for a quick overview of everything that has been happening across the business.

Amazon Freight: Newell Brands’ Carrier of the Year for the second consecutive time
For the second year, Newell Brands has recognized Amazon Freight, this time, as their 2023 “Asset Carrier of the Year.”

The driving force behind the award? Performance. Across all of Newell’s carrier performance metrics, including on-time pickup and delivery and tender acceptance, Amazon Freight hit 98% or greater.

In the past year, Newell has focused on optimizing its distribution network for speed and efficiency. Amazon Freight, with its more than 50,000 trailers and drop-and-hook capabilities, has swiftly supported the company’s operational enhancements. It can quickly flex its assets when needed and scale with Newell’s growth.

The award also recognizes Amazon Freight’s excellent customer service. Behind the scenes, from its account executive to operations support, Amazon Freight helps plan for Newell’s long-term growth but is also fast to respond when disruptions happen. The result is proactive service built on relationships from the site level to the C-suite.

Last year, Amazon Freight was named Newell Brands’ “New Carrier of the Year.”

Delivering for our customers with 20K intermodal containers
We hear from our customers that they want more transportation modes from Amazon to tap into, in particular, intermodal. As part of those efforts, we recently hit a significant milestone: Amazon now owns more than 20,000 domestic intermodal containers that are flowing in our network. It’s part of our desire to offer a safe, reliable, cost-effective solution for long-haul transportation that can be an efficient component to a company’s logistics strategy.

When you integrate our intermodal assets with our relationships with rail and dray carriers and our more than 50,000 trailers, we can offer shippers a valuable intermodal service. Our technology and view of the larger Amazon network allows us to be strategic with how we route our carriers for improved network density which can lead to more competitive rates.

Additionally, rail supports The Climate Pledge, which Amazon co-founded and is a commitment by Amazon and other companies to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Amazon has even been recognized by BNSF Railway as a recipient of their BNSF Sustainability Award. The award showcases companies that are “on the right track when it comes to sustainability.”

If you’re a shipper interested in learning more about our intermodal offering, contact our Enterprise Sales Team. Other shippers? Contact us here to see if it’s a right fit.

Freight industry recognitions
Visibility means confidence and efficiency when it comes to shipping. For the second consecutive year, FourKites has named Amazon Freight to their Premier Carrier List. FourKites recognizes brokers, carriers and 3PLs worldwide that achieve the highest standards of visibility-related operational excellence across all modes of transportation. Customer insight and visibility to shipments is a key priority for Amazon Freight, and we are proud to be included on this list.

On the performance side, Isometric Technologies (ISO), a freight-tech provider, named Amazon Freight as one of the top 50 carriers. Recipients of the Isometric Technologies Excellence in Service Award are selected based on actual 2023 performance across core KPIs such as tender acceptance and on-time pickup and delivery and then consolidated into a composite performance metric known as the ISO Score. Shippers today are under constant pressure and demanding more of their freight providers, so tracking and exceeding these metrics is critical.

These two recognitions illustrate how we are innovating in freight and remain dedicated to our customers’ success – shippers both big and small. Obsessing over customer needs is part of our DNA and helps us create a freight offering that is safe and high-performing. Check out what some of our customers are saying about us here.

Sustainability award
One of Amazon’s leadership principles is that Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility. We know that “our local communities, planet, and future generations need us to be better every day.”

Part of that focus is on sustainability and our commitment to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement. Earlier this year, as an acknowledgment of that focus, Sustainability Magazine named Amazon to their top 10 list of sustainable transport and logistics companies. In fact, Amazon was named #1 for its progress in “making good on the future of the planet with ambitious targets and innovative strategies.”

Driving the recognition were Amazon’s commitment to using biofuels, scaling of electric and alternative-fuel vehicles, and advancements in ocean cargo. It also recognizes Amazon’s use of solar and wind power to run its operations. For the fourth year in a row, Amazon is the world's largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. It’s all part of our path to match all of the electricity powering our operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

The road ahead
The rest of 2024 in the freight industry has a healthy dose of uncertainty. Know that Amazon Freight is here for shippers to tap into the reliability of the Amazon network and give you confidence when that trailer door closes. Create an account to start getting quotes. Or, if you’re an enterprise shipper, contact our Enterprise Sales Team.