Amazon Partnered Carrier options

This page provides information about the partnered carrier options that are available to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) sellers for both small parcel deliveries (SPDs) and less than truckload/full truckload (LTL/FTL) shipments within the 48 contiguous United States.

SPDs consist of units packed in boxes, and each box is individually labeled for delivery. These are typically smaller shipments that are sent via UPS.
LTL/FTL shipment combines individual boxes on pallets for delivery.

Note: Non-Amazon partnered LTL/FTL shipments require a delivery appointment. For more information, see “Scheduling delivery appointments” at Carrier requirements for LTL and FTL deliveries.

Important: When creating your shipment, ensure that you have selected the correct shipping method and ship from address. Shipments sent under a different or multiple shipping methods or carriers may experience issues while requesting a delivery appointment or may be refused at pickup. Providing an incorrect ship from address may result in additional charges or missed pickup requests.

Dangerous goods, also known as hazmat, cannot be shipped with Amazon partnered carriers. For details, see Dangerous goods identification guide (hazmat).

Amazon partnered SPD carrier

Amazon partnered carriers offer deeply discounted rates, and the cost is billed to your account as an "inbound transportation charge." There is a 1 lb minimum charge for partnered carrier shipments. For shipments that weigh less than 1 lb, the minimum charge applies.

We will provide a shipping label you can print that you use with our carrier. The rates apply to deliveries within the 48 contiguous United States. You can cancel up to 24 hours after approving the charges.

After you complete your shipment, give your box to your scheduled pick-up driver or take the package to the local carrier drop-off site of your choice.

Note: You will need to reach out to the SPD carrier to schedule a pickup request. UPS has regularly scheduled web server maintenance every Sunday between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. ET. During this maintenance period, UPS labels may not be available for FBA merchants using Amazon partnered carrier shipments to fulfillment centers. If you encounter problems creating a UPS shipment with the Amazon Partnered Carrier label during this time, try again after the maintenance period.

For more information regarding loss and damage claims, please see the FBA lost and damaged reimbursement policy.

Amazon partnered LTL/FTL carrier

Amazon partnered carriers offer discounted rates to eligible sellers, and the cost is billed to your account as an "inbound transportation charge." If your total shipment weight is more than 150 lb, you should consider using a partnered LTL/FTL carrier for cost savings. Sellers enabled for Amazon partnered LTL/FTL will have the option to choose it as their shipping method when creating a shipment.

Eligibility

To be eligible to use an Amazon partnered LTL/FTL carrier, you must:

Have a dock or forklift to enable placing pallets on a truck
Be able to support a truck coming to your pickup address or use the lift gate service described below
Continually meet the shipment requirements below

Note: LTL shipments using the Amazon Partnered Carrier program must be placed on pallets. Our partnered carriers do not accept floor loaded shipments (shipments not on pallets).

Billable weight and shipping cost calculation

We determine billable weight for small parcel shipments as the higher of the shipment weight and the dimensional weight that you provide in the shipment packing information.

Shipment weight is the actual weight of your shipment based on the weight per box.
Dimensional weight reflects package density based on the box dimensions.

We estimate shipping cost based on the shipment packing information (box weights and dimensions) and the billable weight.

Note: You are responsible for providing accurate shipment information and for the actual cost of the shipment. Providing inaccurate information may result in the blocking of future shipments to the fulfillment center, or an additional charge for noncompliance.

Amazon Freight LTL shipping service

FBA offers a pickup service in select areas for shipments sent to local fulfillment centers. This service offers pickup within two days of scheduling, and offers fast delivery. For more information, see Amazon Freight LTL shipping service.

Note: Shipments that are sent using Amazon Freight will require Amazon carrier labels on the outside of your pallets, in addition to the required FBA shipment labels. For more information about labeling your pallets, see Seller requirements for LTL, FTL, and FCL deliveries.

Shipment requirements

For each shipment, you must:

Provide an accurate freight-ready date for that shipment. Our pallets should be ready for pickup by 8 AM local time on the freight-ready date.
Provide an accurate pallet count for that shipment at the time of estimate acceptance
Provide an accurate weight for each pallet in that shipment
Provide the correct product freight class for that shipment
Provide 40 x 48 inch, four-way access GMA Standard B Grade or higher wooden pallets

Important: Shipments that are not ready by the provided freight-ready date may experience delays or be refused.

Note: If you are unsure of your shipment's freight class, choose the default Estimate my freight class option. If we determine that you are providing incorrect freight classes for your shipments, we may disable your ability to enter freight class and, instead, estimate your freight class for you.

Freight class definition and impact

Freight class is a standardized classification system used to determine the billable weight and risk of a shipment. Freight class is ranked from 50 to 500.

Sellers are expected to provide accurate packaging inputs when creating a shipment. This packaging information triggers a freight class estimate. If Amazon suspects the freight class of your shipment is too low, a warning will be displayed showing an Amazon estimated freight class. If you are unsure of your shipment's freight class, choose the Estimate my freight class option during the Shipping charges step of the Prepare Shipment workflow.

You will be asked to accept Amazon's estimated freight class. Be aware that shipments with rejected freight class estimates are subject to further investigation. Recurring issues with packaging inputs may lead to Amazon disabling your ability to reject freight class estimates.

For more information on freight class estimates, see Amazon Partnered Carrier freight class.

LTL lift gate service

If you don’t have a dock door or a forklift, you can still take advantage of the Amazon partnered LTL service by requesting lift gate service from the carrier. Although all partnered LTL carriers support lift gates, they do lift-gate pickups only a few days a week, which could delay the pick-up time. To be eligible for LTL Lift Gate Service, your shipment must be under 12 pallets and less than 20,000 lbs. To participate in this service:

YOU create a shipment in Seller Central and select Less than truckload (LTL) under Shipping method and Amazon Partnered Carrier under Shipping carrier
We assign a carrier and create a Bill of Lading, which you will receive via email and can access in Seller Central
YOU contact the carrier and request they send a truck with a lift gate
YOU schedule a pick-up time with the carrier that is convenient for you
YOU palletize the shipment and be able to move the pallets to the truck when it arrives (carrier will not have the manpower to move your pallets to the truck)

Scheduling pickup

More than 20 different carriers participate in the partnered LTL/FTL service. When you create a shipment and choose to use the partnered LTL/FTL service , we provide an estimated shipping charge and estimated pick-up date based on the characteristics of your shipments (number of pallets, weight, freight class, etc.) and the freight-ready date you provide.

Note: Your actual shipping charges may be higher than the amount we estimate when you create a shipment for the partnered LTL/FTL service if the carrier determines that your pallets weigh more than you indicated or that the freight class you provided is incorrect.

Your pickup date will be on either the freight-ready date, or two days from when the estimate is accepted, whichever is greater. The carrier assigned to your shipment will be displayed in the Prepare Shipment tab of your shipment as well as on your Bill of Lading (BOL). Please ensure you are providing the correct shipment to the assigned carrier, not doing so may result in additional fees or delays. Give the carrier the Amazon generated BOL, which will be available in the Track Shipment tab of the Shipment Summary on the morning of your pickup. It will also be emailed to the address you listed as the Contact Person for the shipment. If you discuss your pickup appointment with the carrier, you should refer to your shipment by the Amazon Reference Number (ARN), which can be found on your BOL. ARN is different from your FBA shipment ID and required for pickup and delivery requests. When partnered carriers come for pickup, they will not have access to the shipment ID. Partnered carriers are unable to accommodate pick up appointments and will arrive on the provided pickup date.

Tip: Shipments with more than 12 pallets can be rolled into a FTL shipment, which may be more cost effective and have better transit times than a LTL shipment. FTL shipments may require more lead time because carriers will need to arrange a delivery appointment at the fulfillment center before they can pick up your shipment.

Canceling an Amazon partnered carrier shipment

You can cancel your shipment up to one hour after approving your Amazon partnered LTL shipment estimated charges and up to 24 hours after approving your Amazon partnered SPD shipment estimated charges.

Go to your shipping queue and follow these steps:

Locate the shipment and click Work on Shipment.
Click the Provide Details tab.
Click Void Charges.

Important: Canceling the shipment does not cancel the charges. You must follow the instructions above to ensure no pickup is made and charges will not apply. If the cancellation time expires, you will not be able to cancel those charges or receive a refund for them.

Amazon Marketplace Web Service (Amazon MWS)

Amazon MWS also includes Amazon partnered carrier options. For more information, see Amazon Marketplace Web Service Overview.

Amazon Partnered Carrier options

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